This thin, bladeless ceramic heater is all I need to get through cold days

• Electric heaters can sometimes be a nuisance: between the electricity bills, the noise, and the danger, they're usually not the most efficient way to heat your home.
• Still, it's good to have one on hand, whether the heat's not working or you have a drafty room that just won't stay warm.
• Lasko's AW 300 Air Logic Bladeless Ceramic Heater is a quiet, safe, and affordable option for an auxiliary heater.
• Read our guide to the best space heaters for more options to consider.

This is not an infomercial. Let me start by saying that electric heaters are the worst possible way to produce heat. By all means, use your central heating, use your radiators, light a fire, and maybe even consider burning your furniture before you think about getting an electric heater. They're desperation purchases.

Usually, electric heaters are small, dangerous fans with noisy blades that make you think twice about what you place near them: stray envelopes, tissues, pets, children. Beyond that, they just don't seem to throw heat very well.

But yes, Lasko sent me this device that looks more like a '90s-era CD rack than a heater, and yes they were hoping I would say nice things about it, and tell you to buy it. I tried and tried to find something wrong with it, and I even sort of tried to break it, but I just couldn't. Lo and behold, after six months, it still stands and it still heats.

Trying it out (and thawing the cottage)

The home in which I'm keeping this heater is a 120-year-old captain's cottage that's unbearably drafty and cold, even with the central heat on full blast. There are a couple of rooms that get far too hot, but by and large, it's frigid during the winter months; if you were to come for dinner (all are welcome), you'd be sitting at my table in a down jacket.

Enter the Lasko Bladeless Ceramic Heater. It's tall, thin, and somehow looks futuristic and archaic at the same time. Tucked beside a couch, up against a bar cart, or wherever you plop it down, it just seems to camouflage itself.

The Lasko is among, if not the quietest electric heater I've ever used, aside from wall-mounted units, which are superior but require hard-wiring and a whole different bag of tricks. Plus, they're much more expensive.

Despite its small profile, Lasko's heater has lots of technological features including a remote, a timer, and a thermostat. It's made quick work of heating a good 250 square feet of space, and we've been able to run it pretty much nonstop. With electric heaters, there's always the worry that the thing is going to spark and go up in flames, either at the socket or internally. But we when we had an electrician over to take a look at the fan and make sure it wasn't overheating, the Lasko passed the test. While the socket was a little warm, the electrician assured us there was nothing to worry about.

The only issue we've had is with the oscillator, which started to creak a little on one end after six months of fairly heavy use. We haven't taken the base apart or even tried shooting a little lithium grease or WD-40 in there just yet because it's not much of a nuisance. Light conversation, a crackling fire, or a TV on low volume is more than enough to drown out the soft clicking noise. And the heater is still quieter than the wall-mounted units in my apartment — which work great by the way, but draw enough electricity to keep me living on canned sardines and two-dollar wine.

How it works

The AW300 Ceramic Heater is similar in design to many higher-end space heaters, like this one. Basically, there's a (fairly powerful) 1500-watt motor in the bottom that pulls air through the back and pushes it up through the two ceramic heaters on either side of the tower's interior. Thanks to its clever construction, the ceramic parts that get hot are fully contained, so you couldn't burn yourself with this appliance if you tried (I've tried).

The fact that there are only two settings — high and low — may be a bit of a drag for some people, but really, they're all you need. Just keep in mind that while this heater is quiet and powerful for its size, it is certainly not going to heat anything larger than a mid-sized room.

Specs

The fan's specs are pretty basic. As I mentioned earlier, there's a remote, which means you can beach yourself on the couch and not get up until you're completely done binge-watching "Stranger Things" or need to grab more snacks and top off your drink.

There is an eight-hour timer, too, which is handy for those who find themselves dozing off or forgetting the fan is on altogether.

Cleaning-wise, there's a filter in the back, which is accessed through a plastic panel. Rather than having to pull it out and wipe it down, you can just stick a vacuum nozzle in there. Doing this every so often will keep the heater in a lot better shape over time.

The bottom line

Again, an electric heater is a last resort kind of product. It's for when your primary heating system is broken, or when you have poor insulation. For the price, you won't do better, though you can do a heck of a lot worse. Plus, this thing doesn't look half bad, either, and it really blends in just about anywhere. The AW300 comes with a three-year limited warranty. Until that's up, I'll keep putting the heater through its paces, and if I find anything wrong with it, I'll report back here.

If you do decide to buy this fan, beware and do not purchase it on Amazon. There happen to be a number of fraudulent listings and knock-off products, and we won't stand for it. According to Lasko, this heater is exclusively available at The Home Depot.

Pros: Quiet, small footprint, affordable, three-year limited warranty

Cons: Draws a lot of power (but all electric heaters do)