Dr. Infrared Heater DR-968 Review

The Dr. Infrared Heater is a decent, averagely performing space heater. The beauty of infrared space heaters is that they don't actually heat the air, instead they emit infrared radiation that warms objects in the direct line of sight of the heating element. This type creates a feel that is less dry and breezy than ceramic models.

Performance Comparison

Personal Heat

We divided the personal heating metric into two parts — how well each heater fits and operates underneath a desk and how well they work in a living room setting.

Although this device does a good job of producing warmth, it doesn't make a ton of sense to use it underneath a desk, as it has a large footprint. In fact, it wouldn't comfortably fit underneath an average-sized desk.

It performs about average in living room settings. We found that right around five feet away, the Dr. has a sweet spot, making it perfect for use near couches and chairs.

Convenience

To measure convenience we looked at a multitude of settings and features — we noted if the heaters had remotes, if the controls were intuitive to use, and if there were any special elements that set any of the models apart from the others.

The Dr. Infrared is very strong when it comes to convenience. Regrettably, this style of heater doesn't offer any sort of oscillation, but it makes up for this shortcoming in other ways. The included remote has the functions of each button spelled out rather than using often confusing symbols like many other models.

Although the Dr. is one of the bulkiest space heaters that we've tested, it does have wheels that aid in mobility, provided that the surface you are using the heater on is concrete, hardwood, tile, or thin carpet.

The timer setting has one hour increments, and it goes all the way up to 12 hours. We find the option to set the timer for this length of time to be especially useful for long, cold nights or ensuring that you'll be coming home to a toasty room after a day of winter adventuring.

Small Room

To gain objective data, we used a laboratory-grade thermometer to measure how much warmth each heater was able to add to a 161 square foot room in 20 minute increments over a total period of an hour. We made sure that the outside temperature, as well as the temps in adjacent rooms, were close to the same for each model's test.

During our small room assessment, the Dr. Infrared did fairly well. Starting with a room temperature of 62.4 degrees, this space heater was able to raise the temperature 8.6 degrees in one hour. The first 20 minutes of operation was especially impressive — it brought the room temperature up 5.2 degrees during this relatively short period.

Power Consumption

To determine energy costs, we used a wattmeter to measure the amount of kilowatts each device consumes in an hour. We are then able to take this number and multiply it by the national average price of a kilowatt per hour to project costs for periods such as 10 hours, a month, six months, or a year.

The Dr. Infrared is a moderately efficient space heater. At the time of this review, the average energy cost in kilowatts per hour in the United States was 13 cents. After 10 hours of heating on full blast, it used 13.3 kWh, which translates to $1.75 in costs for that period. If you run it for 10 hours per day for 30 days, it would cost you $52.50. Even running around the clock for a month, the going rate for running this model will be approximately $120 — this is relatively cheap to operate considering that it's a 1500 watt device.

Value

The Dr. Infrared is a bit on the pricey side, but considering the functionality of this type of space heater and its great deal of efficiency, it's a solid choice. That said, ceramic element heaters are generally cheaper than infrared models, so if the price is a deciding factor for you, it might make sense to go with a cheaper model.

Conclusion