Buying Cheap electric heaters as soon as the weather gets colder is something most of us do.

Cheap can mean unsafe and poorly built but cheaply priced does not always mean cheaply made, how can you tell the difference?

Most cheap electric heaters are made in China and imported by UK distributors.

We would rather you buy top quality UK made heaters but everyone wants a bargain, so here are some tips make sure that bargain buy is a good buy.

With production costs so low in China, cheap heaters don't have to be poor quality, there are many decent quality appliances available at a reasonable price.

Well-known companies import Chinese made heaters, putting their brand on them and charging a premium price. These companies will have examined and tested the heaters to make sure that:-

• They confirm to UK safety standards
• The build quality is good enough to carry their companies brand.

Those same heaters are also imported by little-known companies, who don't re-brand them and sell them with a smaller profit margin. This means you can get exactly the same heater sold by  major brands for £25 from a smaller importer for £12

You can look at Chinese manufactured heaters here, find one you like then look around and see who is selling it for the cheapest price in the UK.

What to look for.

A responsible distributor will make sure that any electric fire they import for sale in the UK will comply with current safety. It will carry a CE mark.

CE marking:

This is is a certification mark that indicates conformity with health, safety, and environmental protection standards for products sold within the European Economic Area (EEA). It is illegal to sell electric heaters in the UK without It.

If a heater hasn't got a CE mark do not buy it.  Immediately Report the seller to trading standards, the product is almost certainly unsafe and using it will put lives at risk.

For electric heaters made in the UK, we have our own BEAB (British Electrotechnical Approvals Board)  mark as an added voluntary safety measure.

 A BEAB Approved Mark:

Shows that Intertek (an independent third-party) has verified that the manufacturer has taken extra measures in production and testing to make sure the appliance is as safe as possible.

 Unlike a CE mark not having a BEAB mark does not mean your heater is unsafe.

Reviews:

We are an independent Consumers Guide to Buying portable Heaters and are not tied to any manufacturer. Our reviews are unbiased and we will always recommend what we believe are the best products in terms of price build quality, ease of use and safety. See our How We Test Page for more details on how we review.

As most of our recommended appliances are available from Amazon we advise reading the Amazon reviews from verified purchasers to see how the product has performed in use.

 British Companies such as Dimplex (the worlds largest electrical heating business) ensure most of their products are BEAB approved.

Many of our recommended best buy electric heaters are made by Dimplex because they represent good value for money and come with Dimplex's own free extended 3-year guarantee.

If you prefer to buy a Dimplex heater they do not sell directly from their website you can find their heaters  at The Dimplex shop on Amazon

In our Budget Heater Range, we have selected a range of low-priced electric heaters with decent build quality.

Portable electric heaters can cause fires damaging your property and endangering life, 9 out of 10 fires in the UK are caused by electrical appliances. Never buy a heater without safety certification no matter how good a bargain it may seem.