Lasko Bladeless Heater Review

The Lasko Bladeless has a medium-large footprint and stands taller than most of the other space heaters in our fleet. While it has most of the same features that other premium models are equipped with, it doesn't have built-in fall protection, which could be a dealbreaker for people with kids or pets.

Performance Comparison

Personal Heat

To score each heater for this metric, we used them in two of the most common applications we could think of. We wanted to see how well each model could be used under a desk and in a more open setting like a living room. Despite not fitting under most desks, our testers still found this to be an excellent option for personal heat.

It comes up to temperature very quickly and doesn't need to be as close to you as other units. Whether you're sitting one or seven feet away, the heat level feels about the same. You can actually feel the heat, similar to a warm breeze, coming at you. The heat also travels higher through the air; if you are sitting in a chair, it connects most with your upper body, whereas most of the other units direct heat towards your legs and feet.

Convenience

Convenience refers to how user-friendly each device is. Accessories like remote controls and programmable settings add to a heater's score. This model has an oscillating body and built-in storage for its remote control. The timer lets you set the heater in increments of one hour, ranging from one to eight hours.

There are two basic modes, high and low, and you can set the temperature anywhere between 39 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. This model is missing the ability to be used as a fan if you simply want to get some airflow. It also doesn't have any built-in fall protection, which can be useful if you have children or pets.

Small Room Heating

Space heaters work best in fairly small spaces. We used a small room to determine how much heat each device could add in an hour. Using a lab-grade thermometer, we measured and recorded the room temperature every twenty minutes throughout the testing hour. The Bladeless does a decent job at heating small spaces. In our testing room, this unit raised the room temperature by 5.9 degrees in the first twenty minutes and a full 11 degrees by the end of the hour. This puts it somewhere in the middle in terms of effectiveness compared to the other units we tested.

Power Consumption

Power consumption refers to the energy costs associated with operating each machine. We plugged each heater into a wattmeter and recorded how many kilowatts per hour each was using. We then multiplied that number by the national average cost of kilowatt per hour; this allowed us to calculate the cost of running each machine for extended periods.

There's no getting around it; the Bladeless is an energy suck. This model used the most kilowatts per hour of any of the heaters we tested, and as you might expect, this translates to the highest operational costs. Ten hours cost about $1.88, while 10 hours a day over a month will run you about $57. You can expect to shell out $130 if constantly run over 30 days.

Should You Buy the Lasko Bladeless Heater?

The Lasko Bladeless is an effective tower-style heater, but it will run up your electricity bill pretty quickly. While there's no doubt that this is a great personal heater and ideal for getting warm fast, you have to weigh that against the high cost of operation and fairly high list price. A few other options performed nearly as well, while using less energy.

What Other Space Heaters Should You Consider?