6 Best Safest Space Heaters for Seniors

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that portable heaters, including electric space heaters, were involved in an average of 1,600 fires a year from 2020 to 2022, with about 70 deaths and 150 injuries a year. The NFPA found that space heaters and heating stoves were behind nearly a third of home heating fires from 2019 to 2023. And the U.S. Fire Administration reports that in 2020 adults aged 65 and over had 2.5 times the risk of dying in a fire as the population as a whole.

Many of the reasons are ordinary parts of ageing. It is slower to notice a problem and to get out of the house, smell and hearing are less sharp, and memory slips mean heaters get left on. Later life also brings more blankets, throws and clutter close to where someone sits.

• Keep the heater at least three feet from curtains, bedding, furniture, papers, clothes and anything else that can burn
• Plug it straight into a wall outlet. Never use an extension cord or a power strip, which can overheat
• Stand it on a hard, level floor, never on a rug, bed or chair, and away from doorways and the route to the bathroom
• Never run the cord under a rug, or across a walkway where it can trip someone
• Switch it off when leaving the room and before going to sleep
• Check the plug and outlet now and then: if either feels hot, stop using the heater and have the outlet checked
• Make sure there is a working smoke alarm in the bedroom and on every level of the home, and test it monthly

The CPSC's advice is to turn space heaters off before going to sleep, and that is the safest rule for most older adults. Warm the bedroom before bed, set a timer if the heater has one, then switch it off and rely on bedding. A heated blanket with an auto-off is one option, but read its safety notes first: heated blankets are not suitable for everyone, including anyone with diabetes or reduced feeling.

If someone is going to run a heater through the night regardless, the lowest-risk type is a fanless, wall-mounted panel with a low surface temperature (our Envi pick, which its maker says is designed to run around the clock), plugged straight into the wall and with nothing within three feet of it.

Electric space heaters do not burn fuel, so they do not produce carbon monoxide (CO). Every heater on this page is electric. Fuel-burning heaters are different: propane, kerosene and gas heaters can produce carbon monoxide, especially when they are unvented, poorly maintained or used in a closed room. Older adults may mistake the early symptoms (headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion) for something else.

Have every fuel-burning appliance in the home (furnace, boiler, gas fire, stove) checked by a professional each year, and fit carbon monoxide alarms on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas, as the CPSC advises.

Diabetes, neuropathy and some medicines reduce feeling in the legs and feet, so a person may not notice they are too close to a heater until the skin is damaged. Never sit with legs right up against a heater, check skin for redness or mottling, and choose a cool-touch or low-surface-temperature model.

For someone living with dementia, the safest heater is one that does not depend on them remembering it: an empty-room shut-off or auto-off timer (our IRIS pick), a control lock, and a model that is hard to move, such as a wall panel. If they keep moving a heater close to the bed or chair, it may be safer to take it away and keep the room warm another way.

The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), run by each state, helps eligible households pay heating bills. Its funding changes from year to year, so contact your state LIHEAP office, or call the Eldercare Locator on 1-800-677-1116 to find local help with heating for older adults.