Review: Heat Storm Sahara Lightweight Portable Infrared Space Heater

OUR RATING

Value

Design

Quality

Summary

4.2

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The Heat Storm Sahara Infrared Space Heater is a new design of infrared heater. These heaters have come to the market only recently. They have a distinct, pleasing design.

The Heat Storm heater has a compact, almost squat design. The face has a glowing grill showing the quartz heating elements inside. It also has a circular digital display positioned above. The display shows the temperature and other settings.

The Heat Storm also includes some useful features. It has a remote control. It incorporates an air purifier. And it is lightweight enough to move from room to room, either by lifting or by rolling on its castors.

Construction

Easy to read display supports straightforward operation

The Heat Storm Sahara is a compact infrared heater. The heat provided is from quartz infrared heating elements. These heat objects close to the heater, including people if they are close enough. This type of heat is called radiant heat. It differs from convection heaters which heat the air in the space.

The size of the heater measures approximately 14 inches wide, by 12 inches high and 17 inches deep. Many space heaters are heavy, especially oil filled heaters. The Heat Storm, however, weighs only 12 pounds which makes carrying the heater easy. Carrying is also helped by the lift up handle on the top of the heater. Castors are also included making pushing the heater an option too.

The air intake is either side of the heater. The intake is protected by grey grills ensuring you cannot reach the inside of the heater. The side air intake does mean that you must ensure the heater is clear of other objects when in use. Having said that, we would never suggest operating a space heater if it was in contact with another object. From a pure safety perspective. So we do not see this as a particular issue.

The Saraha is a 1500 watt heater. As a rule, this means that it should heat spaces up to 1000 sq. ft. Despite being principally a radiant heater, the heater incorporates a small fan which helps heat the air too. The fan is very quiet in operation.

The heater comes with a 3 year manufacturer warranty.

All in all, the Heat Storm Lightweight Portable Infrared Space Heater is well built, has a great looking design and is easy to move around.

Read our article on the best infrared heaters available

Operation

The Heat Storm Sahara is cool to the touch making it great for use in family environments

As previously noted, the Saraha comes with a remote control unit. This provides full control of the heater from a distance. Operation is straightforward. Use the arrow keys on the remote control to set the temperature higher or lower. The built in thermostat will do the rest.

You can set the heater on a high, or a low setting. This affects the speed of heating, and not ultimately the efficiency and effectiveness of the heater.

The display shows the current temperature. This allows you to check the heater performance periodically.

Some space heaters can dry out the air in a room. To counter this, the Saraha Infrared Space Heater only gently heats the air in the room, providing most of the heat radiantly. This soft heat means that occupants of the room tend to be much more comfortable. It also incorporates an air purifier with a lifetime filter. This removes any dust particles from being blow into the room.

During operation the casing is quite cool to the touch. This makes is a good space heater for areas where there may be hazards, such as pets or children.

Positives

The Sahara has the following positive benefits:

• Size and Weight - The heaters size and weight make it very portable. It is easily lifted, or pushed around on castors if lifting is inconvenient. Despite its size, the heater is a 1500 watt heater capable of heating a room of 1000 sq. ft.
• Large Display - The display is large and visible. Ambient room temperature is checked easily simply by glancing at the display.
• Simple Operation - Operation is very straightforward. Set the temperature using the arrow keys on the remote control or on the face of the heater. The thermostatic control will operate the heater until the temperature reaches the target.
• Instant Heat - The heater is an infrared, radiant heater. This means that heat is provided immediately. With convection heaters, the heater takes time to warm the air in the room. This can mean that a delay of 15-20 minutes can be experienced before any heat is felt.
• Sleek, Stylish Design - The heater has an attractive, sleek casing. It is designed to have a low centre of gravity meaning it is not easy to knock over.
• Warranty - The Sahara comes with a three year manufacturers warranty. This means you need have no worries of problems in the early month of use.

Points to Note

• Not Silent - The main complaint against the Heat Storm Saraha is that it is not silent during operation. This is due to the fan. The fan complements the radiant heat by gently pushing any warm air away from the heating elements and into the room.
• Fan Cooling - The fan also continues to blow after the thermostat has switched the heater off. This lasts for approximately one minute, but the air blown during this time is cooler. This can seem to have the effect of cooling the newly heated space. Quite irritating sometimes.

Summary

Infrared heaters have become very popular these days. We have looked at some of the best infrared heaters on the market elsewhere on the site. We like them a lot, due to their energy efficiency, their instant heating capability and their size and portability.

The Heat Storm Sahara Light Weight Portable Infrared Space Heater is a great example of one of the modern infrared heaters. No longer do you have a scalding hot heating element, behind wire bars. Now you have a lightweight, compact and pleasing design. A heater that is very easy to operate and to move from place to place to get the best use of it.

We have no difficulty giving the Heat Storm Sahara a thumbs up. If you are looking for a small but effective infrared heater then this model could be just what you are looking for.

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