Unflued gas heaters review and compare

01.Introduction

Test results for 15 unflued gas heaters, priced from $499 to $1396

Unflued gas heaters deliver quick, energy-efficient and comparatively cheap warmth to individual rooms in your home. They come with a capacity of up to 25MJ/h (megajoules per hour), which is equivalent to more than 6kW of electric heating — the same as you’d get from three 2kW electric heaters. And while they're a lot more expensive to buy than portable electric heaters, they’re much cheaper to run.

Unflued gas heaters are very efficient, with about 90% of the energy content of the gas being transformed into heat. They also produce only a quarter to a third of the carbon dioxide of an equivalent electric heater (unless you get your electricity from renewable sources).

We tested 15 unflued models for heating performance, ease of use, standby power consumption and safety.

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In brief

• Unflued gas heaters deliver quick, efficient and comparatively cheap warmth — and lots of it.
• They’re not for every home and every room. They release emissions that can trouble asthmatics or people with certain allergies. It also means you’re not allowed to use them in bedrooms, bathrooms and other small or badly ventilated areas.

For more information on Heating and cooling, see Household.

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Brands tested

• Companion Supaheat Comp732
• Everdure Brigadier
• Everdure Commander
• Everdue Crusader
• Everdure Lancer
• Paloma PG-311FN
• Paloma PG-511FRN
• Paloma PG-711FRN
• Rinnai Avenger 25 Plus
• Rinnai Capella 18 Plus
• Rinnai Dynamo 15
• Rinnai Enduro 13
• Rinnai Galaxie 212
• Rinnai Granada 252
• Rinnai Titan 151

How we tested

Time Our testers checked how long the heaters (on their maximum heat and fan settings) took to increase our test room’s temperature by 5°C and 10°C from a starting temperature of 8°C. The outside temperature was maintained at 8°C.

Consistency They also created a profile that showed how evenly the room was heated.

Safety With this type of heater, safety aspects are very important, so the testers carried out a range of standard gas and electrical safety tests and measured surface temperatures.

Ease of use They assessed how easy the controls are to use, how clearly the controls are marked and how easy it is to clean and change the filter. They also looked at portability, programming the timer and the ease of use of the remote control.

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