Hot or not? The five most popular electric heaters on Which.co.uk this winter

As Storm Ciara draws to a close, leaving behind a blanket of cold and windy weather, we bring you the most-viewed electric heaters on our site to help warm things up. So what makes them so special?

Only two of them are Best Buys, one model costs at least £400 more than the others, they all come from different brands, and the only thing they have in common is how much you like to read about them.

Drawing in thousands of views over the past year, these five heaters have pipped almost 50 others to the post to be crowned the most popular on our site. But remember, popularity doesn't guarantee quality. In fact, one of these heaters scored significantly lower than the others.

Read the full reviews for each one, to find out which are really worthy of your money and a spot in your home.

The five most-viewed heaters on our site

1. Dimplex DXSTG25 Ceramic Fan Tower Heater, £79

Dimplex nabbed the top spot with its DXSTG25 tower heater.

Stylish and stacked with plenty of features, this mid-priced heater certainly looks the part. It also comes with a handy timer so you can set it to turn on just before you arrive home, and a remote control so you can operate it from the comfort of your sofa.

2. DeLonghi HFX65V20 2kW Ceramic Tower Fan Heater, £84

In second place, we have another tower heater, but this time from DeLonghi.

Delonghi claims that its slightly pricier and promisingly powerful heater will warm up the room evenly, all while improving the air quality with its nifty dust filter.

But do our tests results back this up?

3. Dyson Pure Hot+Cool Purifying Fan Heater HP04, £500

In third place we have the most expensive heater we've ever tested - the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool Purifying Fan Heater.

Not content with just offering temperature control, the well-known brand decided to add air purifying to its list of features.

If it does what it claims, this eye-wateringly expensive heater will be able to remove 99.95% of allergens and pollutants from the air while either cooling it down or heating it up.

But does it actually heat up a room quickly? And would you pay a whopping £500 if it did?

4. Challenge DL06 2kW Convector Heater with Timer, £20

Fourth most popular is the Challenge DL06 convector heater.

Built for convenience, this heater has a 24-hour programmable timer so you can control your heating even when you're not at home.

The safety cut-off switch will automatically turn off the heater if it's accidentally knocked over, and you also have the option of mounting it on the wall if you want it kept out of reach.

Unfortunately it's not the most stylish heater we've tested, but for £20 it might be ideal if you're on a budget.

5. Argos Simple Value 2kW Upright Fan Heater NF9025-20, £8

In fifth place is the cheapest heater we've ever tested.

The Argos Simple Value heater is very compact and really light, which makes it perfect if you want to be able to easily move it around your house or take it with you on a chilly weekend away.

It has two heater settings and a cool-air feature so you can use it all year round. And additional safety features should stop any worry that it might overheat.

What's more, it's only £8.

What is an oil-filled radiator?

An oil-filled radiator uses an electric element to heat a reservoir of thermal oil inside. Once the oil has warmed up, it will release heat to the body of the heater and then the surrounding air.

Oil-filled heaters take longer to warm up compared with conventional electric heaters, which often provide instantaneous heat. However, they can be cheaper to run over a longer period of time, as radiators retain the heat for a while once they're switched off.

They can be quite heavy and cumbersome to move around, although that's partly because they're more similar to conventional radiators.

We've just tested oil-filled radiators for the first time - find out which models impressed the most by heading to our electric heater reviews.

Electric heater features to look for

From remote controls to LCD screens that display the current temperature of the room, portable heaters can come with plenty of useful features. Here are some to look out for:

• Timer - allows you to pick and choose when your heater turns on and off.
• Cold air setting - a fan for the warm summer months.
• Thermostat - your portable heater will heat the room, and when the desired temperature is reached, the heater will try to maintain the room at that temperature.

Every heater we review has a star rating for how well it keeps the room temperature stable, so that you can buy a model that doesn't require you to manually turn the heater on and off every few minutes.

Head to our reviews of the best electric heaters.