Lasko 5367 Ceramic Electric Compact Heater\

I live in northern New England and we keep the furnace at a chilly 60 degrees during the day while the house is empty except for me. I spend my time in my 20’ x 22’ music room recording and composing and the Lasko does a good job of quickly heating the room by 10 degrees and keeping it there.

The tower takes up very little floor space and the oscillating feature is quite effective in filling the whole room with heat. (Prior to getting this model, I tried another non-oscillating heater that was no where near as effective as this one.) When the room is cold, I turn it on and place it about three feet from my workstation. Within a minute the area around my desk is warm enough to start working. After about half an hour I move the unit further out into the room and leave it there for the day. The entire room is comfortable in no time.

Made in China, the unit seems well-built with a metal grid over the ceramic element. (This grid quickly becomes hot to the touch.) The front and top are metallic looking grey plastic and the back is shiny grey. It’s modern looking and you might mistake it for a speaker rather than a space heater. The built-in handle won’t break off because it’s integrated into the casing. And very important to me because I work with music is that the fan is quiet - quieter than the previously mentioned model that I tried. Its six-foot chord won't reach into the center of many rooms, but it's longer than some. It has automatic overheat protection and comes with a 3 year warranty.

The controls are simple – turn up the thermostat and switch the mode to fan, low heat or high heat. I expect to use the fan mode in the summer when it’s 90 degrees in here, but for now I mostly use the high heat setting (1500 watts). Push a button to start to stop it from oscillation. Simple.

It seems to operate fairly economically. Our electric bill somewhat higher since the unit is on every day, but we use far less heating oil by keeping the furnace at a lower temperature.

A couple of minor issues: As I mentioned, the metal grid gets quite got. I wouldn't want a baby to get near it. Second, there is no tip-over protection so if it falls or gets knocked over, it will stay on. This might pose a safety hazard under some circumstances.

Go to Modal Music Theory for some cool stuff.