With mornings and evenings feeling decidedly chilly, I’m definitely feeling the need for a burst of heat around my home. But I don’t necessarily want to rely on my central heating for that just yet.
That’s where the best electric heaters can come in. And recently, I have been trying out the Morphy Richards HeatFlux 1.5kW Ceramic Fan Heater, which has quickly become one of my favourites I’ve ever tested.
In a nutshell
This compact 1.5kW ceramic heater from Morphy Richards is designed to fit easily on a table top and warm smaller rooms up to 15m2. That makes it ideal for a bedroom or home office, where you might need a heat boost in between your central heating schedule.
Thanks to a ceramic heating element, it’s quiet to use and heats up quickly, meaning you don’t waste energy waiting for it to heat up and you to feel the benefits.
It’s got three different heat settings, plus an eco mode and a fan-only option, which gives you plenty to customise it’s output to your chosen comfort levels.
With an RRP of £49.99, it comes in two colourways, black and grey (although the control panel section on the grey version is black, which gives it a two-tone appearance).
Morphy Richards
HeatFlux 1.5kW Ceramic Fan Heater with Remote Control
How I tested
Specification
- Type of heater: Ceramic fan heater
- RRP: £49.99
- Weight: 1.4kg
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 15.8 x 24.5 x 15.8cm
- Wattage: 1.5kW
- Running costs per hour: 39p (based on the July 2026 energy price cap)
- Room size suitability: up to 15m2
- Smart features: None
- Dual functionality: Fan and heater
- Oscillation: None
Unboxing, setting up and first impressions
Right off the bat, I loved how there is barely a stitch of plastic in the packaging of the Morphy Richards HeatFlux 1.5kW Ceramic Fan Heater. Apart from a plastic cover over the prongs of the plug, there is no other plastic to be seen. It’s largely cardboard packaging, with paper or fabric covering the heater itself. I’m definitely holding on to the fabric bag it comes in to use as a dust bag when it’s not in use over the summer months.
Better still, there is no set up involved, I simply needed to plug it in and I was ready to go.
As I was positioning it where I wanted, I was struck by how light it was. I found it super easy to move around single handedly. Combined with the integrated handle on the back, it’s an absolute doddle to move around. It’s also really compact compared to other electric heaters I’ve tested, like the Mill WiFi Max 1500W Portable Electric Heater or the Vonhaus Electric Stove & Log Store, which means it sits easily on a table top without taking up too much space – ideal for smaller homes where space is at a premium.
As with most electric heaters I’ve tried, it did produce a bit of a metallic smell the first few times I used it, but this dissipated quickly and is completely normal.
What’s it like to use?
There’s a lot I appreciated about this heater. It’s surprisingly quiet, measuring around 48dB on my decibel meter, which is the equivalent of gentle background noise. It’s not utterly silent, but it’s definitely quiet enough to not be bothersome. When I used it in my home office, I found that I could still concentrate. You could definitely have this on while watching TV too, without needing to turn the volume up.
Another bonus for using it in the bedroom is that it has an option to dim the display by 50%. While it’s not exactly like Blackpool Illuminations at full brightness, this is a nice touch for anyone who is bothered by lights while they are trying to sleep.
I loved how quickly it took the chilly edge off my space too. I used it in my bedroom as I was getting up, and found I definitely dreaded sticking my toe out of my nice warm bed much less. There’s no timer to set the fan to come on, so leaving the remote next to my bed was ideal.
Once I was up, I’d take it downstairs and pop it on in my home office for 10 minutes to take the chill off in there while I was having my breakfast. It kicks out heat instantly so there’s no waiting for it to warm up. When we get into the depths of winter, I’ll make more use of the timer function so that I can programme it to turn off automatically preventing me from leaving it on for longer than necessary.
I like that you don’t have to position this fan right next to you to feel it’s benefits. I was sat a good five feet away from it in my office, and the warm air hadn’t turned into a chilly breeze, meaning I didn’t find myself putting it on a higher heat setting or having it on for longer than I really needed. Both my bedroom and home office are smaller than the recommended room size of 15m2, which was essential for me to get the optimum benefits. I did try this heater out in my larger living room, and while it did an admirable job, it’s definitely not the most energy efficient way for me to use it.
(Image credit: Future PLC/ Sarah Handley)
From a safety perspective, it will not only shut off automatically if it overheats, but it also shuts off it is knocked over. Even without knocking it over, it automatically cut out when I lifted it after turning it on, which will ease the mind of anyone concerned about an electric heater being a fire hazard.
While there are a lot of positives about this heater, I did have a couple of small niggles. Firstly, I was slightly confused by the different modes (this may be down to me liking to use the controls intuitively before delving into the instructions to see how clear they are). Despite a clear control panel, I was expecting to be able to choose a target temperature, regardless of which heat mode I was in, but instead this is only possible in Eco Mode.
Once I understood this, it’s really simple to operate this heater. You have the same options and capabilities on the remote as on the on-board controls, which I appreciate, especially as I move this fan between rooms, but sometimes forget to take the remote with me.
When it comes to the heat modes, there are three options, low, medium and high, although to be there didn’t seem to be a lot of noticeable difference between them. Whichever I chose, the heat kicked out instantly, and was ideal for that first blast of heat before I’d switch to the Eco Mode to have more control over the temperature setting.
Secondly, while the design is minimal and inoffensive, it’s not quite up there in the style stakes as, say, the Swan 1.5kW Retro Ceramic Heater, that has a cool 1950s-inspired aesthetic.
And lastly, while this heater does have a fan-only function, which means it has potential to be used year round, for me, this function doesn’t really compare to my favourite fan to use in the bedroom, the ultra quiet Duux Whisper Flex 2.
What are the running costs like?
Based on the energy price cap that was in place at the time of writing, this electric heater costs around 39p per hour to run, so it’s definitely best to use in conjunction with your central heating, rather than as a replacement, otherwise that would turn out very expensive indeed.
It does offer an Eco mode, however, where you can set a target temperature. Once that temperature is reached, the heater will switch into fan mode, which is more energy efficient. This would be the mode I use most often. I’d use the heat modes to take the chill of a room to begin with, and then switch to the eco setting for more prolonged use.
Cleaning and maintenance
Who should buy the Morphy Richards HeatFlux 1.5kW Ceramic Heater?
If, like me, your bedroom is starting to feel a bit chilly at certain times of the day, then this compact Morphy Richards heater will be right up your street. It’s quiet, doesn’t take up loads of space, and is ideal for a smaller space.
For something similar at a more affordable price point, we regularly see the Dreo Atom 316, which has the same RRP of £49.99, available for around the £40 mark, which might be a more suitable option for those on tighter budgets.
However, if you want something better suited to a larger room, then we also really liked Morphy Richards tower heater offering, the HeatFlux Ultra Thin 2kW Ceramic Tower Fan. As well as being more powerful, this floor standing design oscillates, which means it can evenly and quickly heat rooms up to 20m2.
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