Shelter ยท Gear Review
Best Infrared Space Heaters. Warmth on you, not the whole room.
Our pick is the Comfort Zone quartz tower, a radiant heater with tip-over and overheat shutoffs for well under $60. Many heaters sold as infrared are really fan heaters in a cabinet, and a popular one failed an independent overheat test. Only two models met our bar, and we explain why.
Top pick price
About $45 to $50
Tip-over shutoff
Every pick
Readiness tier
Sustain
At a glance: Comfort Zone Quartz Tower CZQTV007BK
Strengths
- It shuts itself off if tipped over or overheated.
- Two quartz tubes send out radiant heat, with a fan to help spread it.
- Two heat settings and an adjustable thermostat.
- It costs well under $60, and Walmart owners praise its value.
Limitations
- Fan noise is the complaint owners raise most.
- It has no remote and no listed timer.
- We found no independent lab test of it, and the warranty is one year.
By Dan Whelan, founder of New World Survival
Researched from government agencies, university extension services, and other published sources. See our sources
The verdict
Two kinds of heater share one name.
A radiant quartz heater has glowing tubes behind a grille that send heat straight out the front, so it warms the person or the chair it faces. A cabinet heater sold as infrared hides quartz elements inside a box and uses a fan to blow air across them, much like a fan heater. Dr. Infrared's own manual lists a turbo fan, and Comfort Zone's cabinet model has an air filter to clean. (Dr. Infrared DR-968 manual, Comfort Zone CZ2018 manual) Neither kind is more efficient. The U.S. Department of Energy says electric resistance heat turns all of the electricity it uses into heat. (DOE)
We ranked on NFPA's buyer checklist first, which asks for a testing laboratory's seal, a thermostat, overheat protection, and an automatic shutoff if the heater tips over (NFPA tip sheet), then on independent tests and owner records. The honest limit is sharper here than on our other heater pages. We found one independent lab test of an infrared heater, and that heater failed it. Our picks rest on makers' manuals and owner ratings. If you want lab-tested heat for a whole room, our ceramic and fan heater comparison is the better place to start. Our space heaters handbook explains every heater type and the safety rules in full.
Best for warmth where you sit
Comfort Zone Quartz Tower CZQTV007BK
Two glowing quartz tubes with a fan behind them, a thermostat, and tip-over and overheat shutoffs. Fan noise is the common complaint.
About $45 to $50
If you want a cabinet heater
Comfort Zone CZ2018
A quartz cabinet heater with a digital thermostat, a remote, a timer, an eco mode, and tip-over and overheat shutoffs. It heats like a fan heater.
Check current price
Side by side
| Comfort Zone CZQTV007BK | Comfort Zone CZ2018 | Dr. Infrared DR-968 | Duraflame 5HM8000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our call | Top pick | Pick: cabinet | Not picked | Not picked |
| Style | Radiant quartz tower, fan-assisted | Cabinet, fan-forced | Cabinet, fan-forced | Cabinet, fan-forced |
| Tip-over shutoff | Yes | Yes | Yes, immediate in lab testing | Not in its manual |
| Overheat shutoff | Yes | Yes | Took 11 minutes in lab testing | Cord overheat protection |
| Thermostat | Adjustable | Digital, 50°F to 90°F | Digital | 62°F to 82°F |
| Remote | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Warranty | 1 year | 1 year | 3 years | 3 years |
| Typical price | About $45 to $50 | Not confirmed | About $190 list | Not compared |
Features are from the Comfort Zone quartz tower manual, the Comfort Zone CZ2018 manual, the Dr. Infrared DR-968 manual, and the Duraflame 5HM8000 manual. Lab results and the Dr. Infrared list price are from TechGearLab's review, updated May 2025. The quartz tower price is from Walmart, where it showed out of stock in October 2026. We could not confirm a current price for the CZ2018. Prices change often.
Affiliate disclosure: New World Survival earns a small commission on qualifying Amazon purchases at no cost to you. This helps us cover operating costs and keep building new content. We only recommend gear we would put in our own kit. Commission never decides a recommendation.
Why the pick wins
Real radiant heat, both shutoffs, a small price.
The one job only a radiant heater does well is warming a person in a cold or drafty spot without heating the whole room first. The Comfort Zone quartz tower does that job and documents both of the shutoffs NFPA asks for.
It is a true radiant heater
Walmart's listing describes dual quartz tubes that produce radiant heat, with a fan to help spread it, a stay-cool metal housing, and a molded handle. (Walmart) Aim it at the chair where you sit.
Both shutoffs are documented
Comfort Zone's manual for this tower series lists an automatic overheat protection device and a tip-over switch that cuts power when the heater falls and lets it resume once stood upright. (Comfort Zone manual)
A long owner record
It carries 4.1 of 5 stars across 249 reviews at Walmart, where owners most often mention value and say it heats small and medium rooms well, and 3.8 of 5 across 747 reviews at Home Depot. (Walmart, Home Depot reviews)
Where it falls short: fan noise is the complaint Walmart owners raise most, it has no remote or listed timer, and no lab has tested it. A 3.8-star average across hundreds of Home Depot reviews also means a real share of unhappy buyers. Keep the receipt, and treat the one-year warranty as the window to find out.
The picks
One for the chair, one for the cabinet look.
Both shut off if tipped and carry overheat protection. Both draw 1,500 watts on high. The short list is deliberate. We kept to models whose manuals we could read and that documented both shutoffs, and set aside the rest for a failed test, a missing switch, or too little information to check.
Best for warmth where you sit
Comfort Zone Quartz Tower CZQTV007BK
A slim tower with two quartz tubes behind a grille, a fan that helps push the warmth outward, two heat settings, an adjustable thermostat, top-mounted controls, and tip-over and overheat protection. (Walmart) Comfort Zone's manual says never to run it with a cracked quartz tube, not to use it unattended, and not to place it near a bed. Its warranty runs one year. (Comfort Zone manual)
Choose it for a reading chair in a drafty room, a desk in a cold basement office, or a workbench. Skip it for a light sleeper's room or a quiet office, since owners say the fan is noticeable. Check that the box lists both shutoffs before you keep it.
Specifications
If you want a cabinet heater
Comfort Zone CZ2018 Digital Quartz Cabinet Heater
A cabinet heater with quartz elements, a fan, and an air filter. Its manual, published under model number CZ2018CN, lists 1,500 and 750 watt settings, an eco mode that holds the room at 68°F, a digital thermostat from 50°F to 90°F, a power-off timer, a remote that takes two AAA batteries (not included), a tip-over switch, an overheat shutoff, and a one-year warranty. (Comfort Zone CZ2018 manual) Home Depot shows it at 4.5 of 5 stars across 119 reviews. (Home Depot)
Be clear about what you are buying. It warms a room the way a fan heater does, and our lab-tested fan heater pick, the Vornado AVH10, lists at about $100. (TechGearLab) Choose the CZ2018 if you want the remote, the timer, and the look. Comfort Zone advises keeping it away from birds and small pets during its first use, while new-heater fumes burn off. The manual says to clean the air filter after three months or sooner if it blocks airflow.
Specifications
What owners and testers say
A popular heater, a melted grille.
The record for infrared heaters is thin. Here is what we could confirm, and where we could not.
The one lab test
TechGearLab tested the Dr. Infrared DR-968, a popular infrared heater, alongside nine fan and ceramic heaters. It heated well and shut off at once when tipped. But when the testers draped a sheet over it to trigger the overheat shutoff, it took 11 minutes to switch off, temperatures under the sheet reached 245°F, and the testers reported a wood-burning smell and a front grille that melted and warped. The other heaters in the test shut off in under four minutes. (TechGearLab)
Quartz towers are loud for their type
Walmart's review summary for the Comfort Zone tower counts fan noise as the main complaint, alongside steady praise for value and for heating small and medium rooms. (Walmart) If silence matters most, an oil-filled radiator is the quiet choice.
Old quartz heaters have a recall history
In 2013 Optimus recalled about 355,000 portable heaters, models H-5210 and H-5211, because the design could fail to prevent nearby combustible materials from igniting. (CPSC) Family Dollar recalled about 19,640 Optimus tower quartz heaters, model H-5232, after reports of overheating and melting knobs. (CPSC) Check any hand-me-down against CPSC's recall list.
Where the record is thin
We could read star ratings at Home Depot but not the review text, so for the CZ2018 we report the rating and not the themes. Neither of our picks has been tested by an independent lab that we could find. That is the reason for the short list and for the plain warnings on this page.
The one thing to know
Three feet in front, and that includes you.
A radiant heater sends its heat forward, so the space in front of it matters most. UL 1278, the safety standard for these heaters, requires any radiant heater with a visibly glowing element to carry a permanent warning to keep furniture, papers, clothes, and curtains at least three feet from the front and away from the sides and rear. (Intertek UL 1278 notice) NFPA's tip sheet goes further and says to keep a heater three feet from anything that can burn, including people. (NFPA tip sheet) Whichever heater you choose:
- Sit three feet away, not with your legs against the grille.
- Plug it directly into a wall outlet, never an extension cord or power strip. (CPSC)
- Never run it with a cracked quartz tube. (Comfort Zone manual)
- Keep it out of bathrooms and laundry rooms, and turn it off when you leave the room or go to bed. (NFPA tip sheet, Comfort Zone manual)
- Keep children away from it. (NFPA tip sheet) A glowing grille draws small hands.
The placement section of our handbook has the full set of house rules, with a version for the fridge door.
How they fail, what they cost
Cracked tubes, clogged filters, and the electric bill.
Infrared heaters fail in a few predictable ways. Each has a clear answer.
A quartz tube is cracked
Stop using it. Comfort Zone says not to operate the heater with a cracked quartz tube, and to contact the company for repairs. (Comfort Zone manual)
It shut off and won't restart
A thermostat switches the heater off when the room reaches its setting, so a pause is normal. If it shuts off and will not restart as the room cools, the overheat device may have tripped, often from a blocked grille. Comfort Zone's tower manual says to turn it off, unplug it for 10 minutes to cool, clear any obstruction, and restart. (Comfort Zone manual) If it keeps happening, stop using it.
A cabinet heater runs weak
Check the filter. Comfort Zone says to clean the CZ2018 filter after three months or sooner if it blocks airflow, and Dr. Infrared says to clean its filter once a month or as needed. (CZ2018 manual, DR-968 manual)
What it costs to run
On high, either pick uses about 1.5 kilowatt-hours an hour. Multiply by your electric rate: at 15 cents a kilowatt-hour, that is roughly 23 cents an hour. A radiant heater can save money only if it lets you warm one chair and turn the central thermostat down.
What we didn't pick
And who should skip an infrared heater.
Dr. Infrared DR-968
Well built on paper, with a tip-over switch, an overheat shutoff, a cool-touch cabinet, and a three-year warranty. (Dr. Infrared manual) In TechGearLab's overheat test it took 11 minutes to shut off and its grille melted. (TechGearLab) An overheat shutoff that slow is the failure we will not recommend around.
Duraflame 5HM8000
A popular cabinet heater with a thermostat, cord overheat protection, and a three-year warranty. Its manual, as we read it, does not mention a tip-over switch. (Duraflame 5HM8000 manual) NFPA's checklist asks for one, and both of our picks have it.
Patio and garage infrared heaters
Wall-mounted patio heaters and high-wattage garage heaters are built for different jobs, and some need their own 240-volt circuit. (Bob Vila) This page covers plug-in heaters for rooms in the house.
Skip infrared for whole-room heat
To warm a whole room evenly, a lab-tested fan heater is the better buy. See our ceramic and fan heater comparison.
Skip it for a quiet bedroom
Both picks run a fan. For quiet evening warmth, see our oil-filled radiator comparison.
Skip it for outage heat
Every heater here stops when the power does. If heat during an outage is the goal, read the outage section of our handbook first.
Where it fits in your readiness
Comfort while the grid is up, not a plan for when it is down.
A plug-in infrared heater belongs in the Sustain tier. It keeps one person comfortable at a desk or in a chair through a cold snap or a furnace repair, and it can let you turn the whole-house thermostat down. It does nothing once the power fails, so it complements an outage plan rather than replacing one.
Winter storms and ice storms
Useful while the power holds, and a reason to have the one-warm-room plan worked out before the lines come down.
Power outages
At 1,500 watts, either pick would drain a portable power station that stores about 1,000 watt-hours in well under an hour, if the station can run it at all. Batteries are better spent on lights, phones, and medical devices.
Maintenance
A look at the tubes, a clean filter, and a soft cloth.
- Unplug it and let it cool before cleaning. Wipe the body with a soft cloth, and never use harsh cleaners, alcohol, or solvents. (Comfort Zone tower manual, CZ2018 manual)
- We look at the quartz tubes each time the heater comes out. Comfort Zone says never to run it with a cracked tube, so a crack means it stays off until it is repaired.
- On a cabinet heater, clean the air filter on the maker's schedule. (CZ2018 manual)
- Check the cord and plug for cracks or damage (U.S. Fire Administration); we make it part of the fall routine when the heater comes out of storage.
- Store it in its box in a dry place for summer, with the manual and receipt.
For every other kind of heater, from oil-filled radiators to baseboards, see our space heaters handbook.
Questions people ask
Before you plug it in.
Are infrared heaters safer than other space heaters?
Not by type alone. A radiant quartz heater has a glowing element, and UL 1278, the safety standard for these heaters, generally requires a permanent warning to keep furniture, papers, clothes, and curtains at least three feet from the front. Cabinet-style infrared heaters hide the element, but in TechGearLab's review, updated in May 2025, a popular one took 11 minutes to shut off when covered and its grille melted. Look for a tip-over switch, overheat protection, and a testing laboratory's seal, as NFPA advises.
Do infrared heaters use less electricity?
No. The U.S. Department of Energy says electric resistance heating converts all of the electricity it uses into heat, so a 1,500-watt infrared heater makes the same amount of heat as any other 1,500-watt heater. A radiant heater can feel warmer to the person it faces, which may let you heat one spot instead of a whole room, but it does not make more heat per watt.
How close can I sit to an infrared heater?
NFPA's guidance is to keep a space heater at least three feet from anything that can burn, including people. Set it three feet away and aimed at you, rather than at your legs from inches away.
Can I leave an infrared heater on overnight?
No. CPSC says never to leave portable heaters turned on while sleeping, Comfort Zone's tower manual says not to use it unattended, and both Comfort Zone manuals say not to place it near a bed.
Can I use an infrared heater in a bathroom?
No. Comfort Zone and Dr. Infrared both say their heaters are not intended for use in bathrooms, laundry areas, or similar locations.