8 Most Energy Efficient Electric Wall Heaters Reviews

Winter is coming. Do you feel like you could build a wall of ice in your room? Would you rather fight the White Walkers than open your power bill?

Don’t spend another winter shivering in fear.  

Read our electric wall heater reviews to find the best electric wall heater models that will bring summer temperatures back to your home. And, it will only set you back for less than 35 cents a day! 

The 8 Best Electric Wall Heaters Reviews 

In a hurry? That’s okay. You can refer to our handy-dandy summary version of our energy-efficient electric wall heaters reviews below.

Continue reading to dive deeper into each electric wall heater and why it might be perfect for your heating needs.

We’ll also be answering questions such as are electric wall heaters efficient, are electric wall heaters noisy, and are electric wall heaters cheaper for more extended use. So, without any further, here are our insert and wall-mounted electric heater reviews.   

Made in Germany, the Stiebel Eltron 074057 Wall Heater is our pick for the best electric wall heater. This sleek and stylish heater packs a punch, moving more air volume than any other heater on our list.

It can comfortably heat a 200 square foot room. And it does it quietly. It uses an ultra-quiet fan so that it won’t bother you with any rattling noises. 

While the Steibel Eltron 074057 can stand alone in a small space, it can also be used as supplementary heating if your primary heating source isn’t doing the job. In a larger room, you can even connect it to the wall thermometer. 

The only thing that’s a little bit complicated is that this electric wall heater doesn’t plug into an electrical socket; it needs to be hard-wired. But call your local electrician, and they should be able to install it for you in a jiffy. 

Don’t let the low price fool you. The De’Longhi Mica HMP Wall Heater is our budget pick, but it is still loaded with features to fight off the winter breeze. 

This sleek wall-mounted electric heater uses Micathermic heat to warm up your room—this a combination of convection and radiant heat. But unlike traditional convection heaters, there are no noisy fans blowing dust to make you sneeze and dry out your skin. 

Not only can you keep allergens floating around in the air, but the De’Longhi heater features a frost protection setting to keep your home safe. That’s not the only safety feature on this heater. It also has a thermal safety shut-off, so it doesn’t get too hot, and an internal tip-over switch if it was to fall. 

If you are looking for a safe electric wall heater that won’t break the bank, the De’Longhi is an excellent choice.

While the Broan-Nu Tome 194 Wall Heater is the most expensive heater on our list, it also is the most powerful at 3000 watts. However, if you like the heater and want to save on power, you can lower the heater’s wattage to increase energy efficiency.

You have the option of using this either as a wall-mounted electric heater or an in-wall electric heater. Either way, you will find the Broan electric wall heater can transform a room from icy and cold to warm and cozy. And, controlling the heat output is crazy easy and convenient with its fool-proof thermostat knob upfront. 

Unlike other forced fan heaters, the Broan electric wall heaters feature a fan delay. By allowing the heater to heat up before the fan turns on, you save on electricity costs and have more money left to spend on other things.

If you hate fussing with inaccurate dials, check out the Cadet Energy Plus CEC163TW Wall Heater. This Energy Star Certified heater has an easy-to-use digital thermometer – select the desired temperature, and you’re all set. Easy-peasy! 

Helping you cut down your power bills and have extra money for something practical like a rain barrel is its auto-adjusting fan speed that consistently maintains the warmth in your room. 

This unit is an in-wall electric heater, but it isn’t flushed into the wall – it sticks a few centimeters out. It’s not a bad thing nor a deal-breaker, though. But, you’ll want to reach out to a professional to install it.   

Super efficient and cool to the touch, the Envi HH3012T Wall Heater is a great choice to heat a small room or supplement an existing system in a larger space. 

You don’t even have to book an appointment with your local electrician because this convection heater plugs into a standard outlet. And, with some power tools, you can mount it directly to your wall!

Since convection electric wall heaters do not have moving parts (unlike force fan heaters), you can enjoy the warmth without a loud humming sound in the background. It uses a stack convection technology to gently circulate the warm air, letting you enjoy the heat without drying your skin or stirring up any dust.

Another wall-mounted heater worthy of considering is the Heat Storm Deluxe HS-1000-WX Wall Heater. Unlike the Envi heater model, this wall heater uses infrared heating elements and a patented Heat Management System to quickly drive away those hair-raising cold spots. 

And since this infrared electric wall heater has an adjustable thermostat with an LED display screen, you can save yourself from fussing with the heat settings. You can even set and control the temperature while you’re lounging on the sofa because it has a remote control! 

Don’t worry about this electric wall heater getting too hot, either. The grill is safe to touch.

The King PAW2422-W Wall Heater is a forced fan heater that you can also mount directly into your wall. Installation is relatively easy, but it’s best to leave it to the experts if you’re inexperienced. 

Unlike other forced fan heaters, you can decide the heater’s wattage when you install it. Go all the way up to 2250 watts if you want maximum heat output. For greater energy efficiency in a smaller room, you can lower the wattage.

The PAW features a heavy-duty steel heating element and blower to push warm air into the furthest corner of your room. In fact, the PAW has the heating capacity to heat a 400 square foot room –  that makes it the best electric wall heater for a larger space.

However, the PAW doesn’t come with a built-in thermostat. You will have to purchase that separately. It’s not all bad, though. Then you can choose from a basic thermostat, a programmable thermostat, or even a WiFi-enabled thermostat that you can control from your smartphone. 

Another Cadet Wall Heater to make our list is the Cadet 67507 Com-Pak. Like the Cadet Energy Plus, this is an in-wall electric heater that uses fan-forced air to heat a small room or bathroom. Don’t worry. The centrifugal fan quietly distributes heat. You’ll hardly notice it. 

If you are a handy person, you will find the installation quick and easy. If your electrical skills are lacking, it will be better to hire someone to install the Cadet electric wall heater for you. But unlike installing central heating, this installation shouldn’t take too long.

Electric Wall Heater Buying Guide 

While wood-burning stoves are a good option if you live in the country, they aren’t practical for city dwellers. Sure, there are space heater units, but they are often bulky and take up floor space. 

The best wall-mounted electric heaters are a middle-ground heating option. They can keep your home warm while maximizing your space. And, of course, without chopping wood or worry about gas leaks.  

So let’s look deeper at the features that make the best electric wall heaters. 

Heat output (BTU) and Room size 

Every homeowner shopping for an electric wall heater should find out the ideal heat output to have. 

Heat output is measured in BTUs. But what is a BTU anyway? Good question. A BTU or British Thermal Unit is the amount of energy required to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit (1).

Several factors will affect how many BTUs your electric wall heater generates and how many BTUs you will need.

One factor that will affect how many BTUs your heater produces is its temperature range. The Cadet Energy Plus, for example, has a temperature range from 40 – 86 degrees Fahrenheit. When your heater is operating at higher temperatures, it is generating more BTUs. 

So, how do you compute the ideal heat output for your room? 

We know it can be overwhelming. There are complicated formulas with multiple steps and efficiency percentages that are enough to make you go cross-eyed! 

But, we’re going to show you a quick and easy way to estimate how many BTUs you need that won’t make you see double. 

Start with your room’s square footage and multiply that number by 20 BTUs (2).

So, if you had a 200 square foot room multiplied by 20 BTUs, you would need 4,000 BTUs of heat.

This computation is not set in stone, though. Sometimes your electric wall heater may not be running at peak efficiency. Different types of heaters can become inefficient for various reasons.

If you place an object like a chair in front of an infrared heater or a radiant heater, you will find the chair gets hot, but the heat has trouble reaching other parts of the room. Infrared heaters and radiant heaters work best when they are unobstructed.

Forced fan heaters tend to become less efficient if the grills or filters become clogged. You can quickly fix this by wiping away the dust or cleaning the filter. 

Heating Element  

Different heaters use different ways to heat your home. Depending on your situation, you may find you prefer one type of heating element over another. So, let’s look at the different heating elements out there.

a. Radiant/Infrared

While it may be confusing, infrared and radiant are both terms used to apply to the same way of generating heat. This way of heating works like the sun by heating objects with infrared radiation (3). 

With this type of heater, you feel the heater more when you are directly in front of it. The Heat Storm Deluxe is an infrared heater, but it uses a fan to help distribute the air to all parts of the room.

In general, this type of heat is less drying. It’s popular with people with allergies because it doesn’t stir up dust and other allergens. 

b. Fan Forced

Another common type of heating element is fan forced hot air. As its name suggests, this heating system blows hot air through the vents and into your room.

Often fan-forced air systems are hardwired directly into the house’s electrical system, and a remote wall thermostat controls the temperature. 

Some people complain that fans can be noisy and that the air can be drying. Placing a humidifier can revitalize the humidity levels, but they will add to your electricity costs.

c. Micathermic

Micathermic panel heaters use a combination of convection and radiant heat, but they are different from other heaters because there is a thin mica layer covering the heating elements (4). 

Micathermic panels heat up quickly and efficiently, allowing you to heat your room rapidly. There’s no need to worry if they are close to objects in your home – they don’t get hot to the touch!

Micathermic electric wall heaters don’t require fans to move the heat; instead, they rely on convection currents. Since there aren’t any fans, you find that they won’t dry out the air as other heating elements can. 

There is a downside, though. Mica sheets are thin but require a good deal of surface area to generate enough heat so that they will take up some wall space. 

d. Convection 

Convection is the last type of heating element. But just because it is last doesn’t mean it is less common. Even ovens use convection!  

In a convection heater, the air itself is heated when it comes in contact with the heating element. It is then pushed out of the device. The hot air rises and forces the cooler air down. This cold air is then drawn into the heater, again creating convection currents (6). 

To see a great visual demonstration of convection currents in action, watch this classic Mr. Wizard’s World video:

Energy Consumption 

If you’re looking for an energy-efficient heating option, you want to know how much power it consumes. While figuring out energy consumption may seem complicated, the truth is it is a simple formula. 

Energy is measured in watts or kilowatts. For every heater we reviewed, we included how many watts the heater uses. This number is based on one hour of usage. But you can’t just take this number and multiply it by your costs because you are charged in kilowatt-hours. 

So first, you need to convert from watts to kilowatts. This computation is easy -always keep in mind that a kilowatt is 1000 watts. 

So let’s look at three examples:

The Steibel Eltron is 2000 watts, the Broan model is 3000 watts, and the De’longhi heater uses 1500 watts. 

To convert these to kilowatts, we divide the watts by 1000. Here’s what you’ll get: 

• 2kW for Steibel Eltron
• 3kW for Broan
• 1.5kW for De’Longhi

The next step is to figure the cost per hour. You will want to use the current electricity costs where you live, but for our example, we will use the average price for a kWh in the US which is 13.19 cents (7). 

So, that would be: 

• Steibel Eltron 2kwh x 13.19 cents = 26.38 cents/hr
• Broan Nu-Tone 3kwh x 13.19 cents = 39.57 cents/hr
• De’Longhi 1.5X13.19 cents = 19.78 cents/hr

You’ll notice that our budget choice, the De’Longhi, is the cheapest to run per hour. However, if you factor in that it doesn’t have a fan, it may take a while to warm up every corner of your room. 

Our best electric wall heater pick, the Steibel Eltron, has a 106 CFM blower to move heat faster. It may cost more per hour, but you won’t be waiting long to enjoy the warmth. 

Check out this quick chart to show the cost breakdown if you were to run those three heaters eight hours a day for a month.

Product name	Cost per hour use	Hours turned on	Additional bill per month
Stiebel Eltron 074057	26.38 cents	8	$63.31
Broan- Nu Tone 194	39.57 cents	8	$95.96
De’Longhi Mica HMP 1500	19.78	8	$47.47

Aside from calculating the cost per hour use, you can look for heaters with an Energy Star Rating. It is a program backed by the US Government that guarantees products meet specific energy standards (8).  

When you see a product like the Cadet Energy Plus with the Energy Star Rating, you can be confident that you are buying an energy-efficient product.

Installation 

Unlike portable heaters, electric wall heaters are usually permanently fixed into your wall. There are two electric heater installation options to choose from. As its name suggests, wall-mounted is like hanging up a picture – you’re going to use brackets or hooks to keep it on your wall. 

And since wall-mounted heaters don’t sit flush into the wall, they usually plug into a conventional electric outlet. However, some models may require rewiring. 

Inserts are the complete opposite. You’ll need to cut a hole into the wall and hard-wire it into your home’s electrical system, 

If you are a handy person, you can install these yourself. But if you aren’t certain how to do the electrical wiring, make sure you hire an electrician. Many house fires are caused by faulty wiring (9). 

Controllability And Safety Features 

Last but not least are features that help you control your heater and keep your family safe. 

For instance, the Heat Storm Deluxe gives you the convenience of changing the heat output via its remote control. Other units have a built-in timer that will automatically shut down the device after a certain amount of time. This feature is a great precautionary measure, especially if you’re forgetful or you’d like to stick to 5 hours of heater use per day.

You’ll also find electric wall heaters with thermal overload protection systems. If the heater gets too hot, it will kick in, turn off the heater, and prevent a fire.

Fans are standard with the best electric wall heaters because they help spread out the hot air across all corners of your space. Some models offer high and low fan settings, while others are stuck in one wattage. 

Like baseboard heaters and space heaters, you can control the temperature of most electric wall heaters via a thermostat. Some heaters will have this feature, while others, like the King PAW, require a separate purchase. 

If you are buying a separate thermostat, you can choose from a basic model or get something fancier with more precise temperature control, like a digital thermostat or one that is WiFi-enabled.