Canstar Blue’s portable heater ratings revealed

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The temperature has definitely dropped, but if you’re looking to buy a heater to keep warm, it may be worth seeing what thousands of Australians have rated as the very best.

The 2025 Most Satisfied Customer Awards for Portable Heaters have been announced, with Dyson taking out the top spot.

The brand, which has won for the third year in a row, scored a top rating of five stars for overall satisfaction, performance, features and functionality and design.

However, if a brand new Dyson is a little out of your price range, a number of other brands scored five stars across a range of categories, including:

• Rinnai: Features and functionality as well as ease of use earned five star ratings from Aussie shoppers
• Goldair: A top rating of five stars was awarded for ease of use
• Anko: the budget-friendly brand available from Kmart and Target received five stars for value for money

Canstar Blue 2025 Most Satisfied Customer Award – Portable Heaters

What should you look for when buying a heater?

Video source: facebook.com/Sunrise

Understanding the size of the room you want to heat and how many hours of the day you’re typically heating it for is crucial. When looking at the type of heater you might be after:

• Fan heaters, particularly the new models like Dyson, get warm quickly and are effective at keeping a room warm because they’re able to move the hot air around.
• Gas heaters are a lot more powerful and will blast through your house – but you have to be wary of an unflued gas heater. 
• Oil heaters tend to have a much lower running cost and can be kept on for a long time, but they do take a bit of time to heat up.

Canstar Blue top tips to keeping warm this winter:

Shut your windows and doors before turning on your heater

Canstar Blue research has revealed only 48% of Australians will do this, which means over half are letting all the warm air escape. This doesn’t just make it harder to get the room warm, it will also mean your heater has to work harder or longer – and use more energy to do so.

Heat yourself first

Only 44% of Australians say they’ll make sure they’re as warm as possible before turning on their heater. While there’s no doubt a new heater can heat your room easily, making sure you’re warm first by putting on a couple of extra layers should always be your first step. 

Keep a metre for the heater 

One-quarter (25%) of heater users admit they’re worried about the safety hazards of their portable heaters, but maintaining some easy safety rules can help to eliminate some of this worry:

• Keep a metre from your heater – that includes people, curtains, bags. 
• Make sure it’s steady – don’t put your heater on top of other items, or on any kind of unstable surface. 
• Make sure it’s not sharing power – don’t plug it into a multi-board with other appliances.

Most new heaters will come with safety features built in, such as automatic switches if the heater falls over or hits the maximum temperature. 

Switching to a cheaper plan can help keep bills down

While buying an effective heater is one way to keep warm, making sure you’re not driving up your energy bills by switching to a cheaper plan will make it even more effective.

Research from Canstar Blue shows that switching from the average to the cheapest plan could save you more than $300.

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