Whether you’re using a space heater to add a little extra comfort to one of your rooms or attempting to reduce overall heating costs, it’s only natural in this era of expensive energy that consumers would be concerned about space heater efficiency.

For us non-scientific types the definition of energy efficiency is simply getting the level of service we expect from an electric appliance for the least amount of energy. But it would be extremely helpful if a simple, reliable system existed for evaluating space heater efficiency.

We’ve all seen the easy to understand, yellow EnergyGuide tags that estimate the yearly operating costs for a wide variety of household appliances, but unfortunately they don’t exist for electric space heaters.

The reason for this omission is stated by the EPA on the Energy Star website: "EPA does not currently label space heaters as an ENERGY STAR qualified product, but has evaluated them and has no plans to label them in the near future."

Despite manufacturers’ claims to the contrary, there isn’t a measurable difference in efficiency among the hundreds of makes and models of space heaters worth noting; which is a possible explanation for the EPA’s decision to ignore this category of electrical appliance altogether.

So rather than waste time chasing the elusive "most efficient space heater" we can look at a few ways to make the most efficient use of a space heater.

How fast does the room heat up?
One method to measure the efficiency of a space heater is by how fast it heats the room. It stands to reason that the quicker the room gets up to temperature, the sooner the thermostat will shut the heater off.

And the fastest way to distribute heat throughout a room is by incorporating a fan into the heater. Although fan noise is an annoyance for some people, a space heater equipped with a fan will warm up a room three times faster than one without.

Is the heat distributed evenly?
Another measure of space heater efficiency is how evenly the heat is distributed throughout the room. Balanced heat distribution that eliminates cold spots is best accomplished by an oscillating (side to side motion) heater, or one designed to efficiently move large amounts of air throughout the room.

Make efficient use of your space heater
The product description of many space heaters refers to the lower of the two available heat settings as the one being more efficient. This is true in an obvious sort of way if you’re using only 750 watts to keep your bedroom warm at night instead of the full 1,500 watts.

It’s not that the space heater is more efficient at a lower wattage; it’s that you’re using the space heater more efficiently.