Is pricey space heater worth the cost?

Dyson put style into household appliances, first with its vacuums and then with its fans. Now it's promoting a cool-looking space heater called Dyson Hot. 

Consumer Reports says what’s not so hot about the Dyson is its price. At $400, it’s one of the most expensive space heaters it's ever tested.

So how did the Dyson Hot do in Consumer Reports labs? It passed an important safety test, where a terry cloth is placed on the heater to see if it scorches or catches fire. The surface of the Dyson doesn’t get so hot that you can’t touch it. So that’s not a safety risk. And it’s got another important safety feature. It shuts off if it’s tipped over.

But Its remote presents a safety risk to young children. It has a small button cell battery that's easily accessible and hazardous if swallowed. If you have young children, Consumer Reports says that you should make sure the remote is kept out of their reach and you can operate the space heater without the remote.   

Another test assesses how evenly space heaters distribute heat. Sensors measure the temperature in different parts of the room. The Dyson Hot did an excellent job.

But it didn’t score well for noise. At its highest fan setting, the Dyson Hot is one of the loudest space heaters Consumer Reports ever tested.  

Consumer Reports says a better choice is the Vornado TouchStone 500 Vortex Heat for $120. It also does a very good job and even on high, it’s not very noisy.

Whatever space heater you use, Consumer Reports says you won't see savings unless you turn down the heat in the rest of your house. And never leave a space heater unattended — that’s a safety hazard.