It’s winter and I live in Dallas, which means the weather is a real tossup.

It isn’t uncommon for a few days with high temps in the 70s to be followed up with a cold front that drops the temperature 25 or 30 degrees in an afternoon.

Space heaters are not usually on my radar, as I’m fairly warm-natured, but our house is a bit drafty and our living room seems to stay a good 8-10 degrees colder than the rest of the house.

I’ve been reviewing two space heaters — one for smaller spaces and one that’s pretty sizable — and I’ve come to appreciate their utility.

Dreo Solaris 718

When I get pitched gadgets for review, I usually dive right in and start testing, but when I agreed to test the Dreo Solaris 718 Space Heater in mid-August, I knew it would be a while before I could put it through its paces.

When winter’s first snow fell in Dallas in January, I happily warmed our living room with the Dreo Solaris 718 Space Heater ($129.99, Amazon.com).

The 718 is a 30-inch tall, slightly cone-shaped tower heater with 1,500 watts of heating power. It weighs 8 pounds, and it is easily moved with a recessed handle near the top.

There are five heating modes that step up from 700 watts to 1,500 watts, along with three fan mode settings and ECO mode that lets you set the desired room temperature (from 41 to 95 degrees) and the heater will turn off and on as needed.

The three fan speeds work with or without heat, so you can use the 718 as a tower fan in the warmer months.

There are nice backlit buttons on the top of the unit as well as a remote control. The buttons are just icons.

The 718 is a whole-room heater designed for rooms and open areas up to 300 square feet.

It has oscillation up to 120 degrees to spread the heat evenly around the space.

The 718 uses a PTC ceramic heating element that Dreo says heats up in just two seconds.

It has some very nice safety features, including V-0 flame retardant materials (the highest fire safety rating), overheat protection, child lock, 45-degree tip-over protection, cool-touch housing and FortPlug technology, which detects overheating and turns off the heat if the temperature exceeds 185 degrees.

The 718 is really quiet. In ECO mode it runs at 25 decibels, which is below a whisper.

It’s available in gold, silver or black.

The 718 feels substantial and heats quickly and quietly. The combination of good looks, fast heat and oscillation make it a great choice for your larger rooms.

Pelonis 16-inch PTC Fan Heater

Sometimes you just want a heater to hide in the corner and just do its job.

The 16-inch PTC Fan Heater from Pelonis fits the bill precisely.

The exact model number is PSH17CD2ABB ($64.99, Amazon.com). Don’t be surprised to find it for a bit less. Because of the long model number, I’m just going to call it the Pelonis for this review.

The heater has a ceramic element, and it oscillates 75 degrees. It has an adjustable timer can run for up to 12 hours.

Safety features include V-0 flame retardant materials, overheat protection and 45-degree tip-over protection. It also has auto shutoff. If you leave the heater on and don’t interact with it for 24 hours, it’ll automatically shut itself off.

It has two heating levels — 1,300 watts and 1,500 watts — and ECO mode that lets the user specify a desired room temperature between 41-95 degrees.

The control buttons and LED screen are on top, and you can also interact with it via remote control.

The Pelonis measures 6.1 inches by 6.3 inches by 16 inches and it weighs just 5.63 pounds.

It runs quietly at just 32 decibels in ECO mode.

The heater has a built-in handle on the back so you can easily pick it up and move it.

This would be an appropriate heater for your cubicle at work, or a bedroom or any space up to 220 square feet.

The heater’s fan had no problem keeping a warm breeze moving across my living room from a distance of 10 feet.

The Pelonis is almost silent and heats efficiently and is a fantastic heater for its price.

©2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.