Heater in a Child's Bedroom: Safe Use and Running Costs
A plug-in heater is fine for taking the chill off a child’s bedroom, as long as you use it to warm the room before bedtime and switch it off before they go to sleep. Electrical Safety First says running a portable heater overnight “is not recommended”. Keep it at least a metre from the bed, the curtains and the toy box, plug it straight into the wall, and never dry the school uniform on it. For a baby, aim for 16 to 20°C and keep the cot away from any heater. An oil-filled radiator is the better pick for a bedroom.
Fan heater or oil-filled radiator?
Electrical Safety First’s portable heaters guide compares the types:
- Fan heaters are “usually small, cheaper, and provide instant heat but can be noisy”. The hot air “can be intense”, so the charity says they must be kept away from “curtains, bedding, furniture – and people”. Fine for twenty minutes during bath time, not next to a sleeping child.
- Oil-filled radiators take longer to warm up “but also continue to give out heat after being switched off”, and the charity calls them “generally more economical to run”. The catch: “the fins can stay hot after use so keep children away from them until they have cooled.”
If you do run a heater while someone sleeps, the charity says to use one “which is relatively low risk in terms of igniting any items nearby, such as an oil filled radiator”. It also suggests warming the room before bedtime, because an oil-filled radiator “will keep a room warm for quite a while after being turned off”.
A small model with a thermostat and timer lets you set it to come on before bath time and go off before lights out. The De’Longhi Radia S 1.5kW is one example with a digital thermostat and a 24-hour timer.
The rules for a small bedroom
Electrical Safety First says “most portable heater fires are caused by people making basic mistakes”, like knocking heaters over, which is “easily done, particularly if there are young children or pets nearby”. In practice:
- One metre clear, all round. Bedding, curtains, the beanbag and the pile of soft toys all count. In a box room with no such spot, warm it from the landing with the door open.
- Never dry clothes on it. I know the temptation when the PE kit has to be dry by morning. London Fire Brigade says to keep heaters well away from clothes, curtains and furniture and “never use them for drying clothes”.
- Straight into the wall socket. No extension lead, because they “can easily be overloaded”.
- On a level floor, out of the way. Somewhere a child won’t trip over the lead on a 2am trip to the loo.
- A smoke alarm on every floor. Electrical Safety First says at least one per floor, tested monthly.
Buy new, from a reputable retailer, and register it with the manufacturer so you hear about any recall. The charity warns against second-hand heaters, as they “may not meet current safety standards”. LFB also says to check yours isn’t on a recall list.
How warm should a child’s bedroom be?
Cooler than you might think:
- Babies: the Lullaby Trust recommends 16 to 20°C, because “the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is higher in babies who get too hot”. It says it’s “rarely necessary to keep your heating on all night”, and to make sure the cot “isn’t placed near a heat source, such as a radiator, heater or in direct sunlight”.
- Older children: Lisa Artis of The Sleep Charity suggests ideally 16 to 18 degrees for a child’s room.
- The rest of the home: the NHS winter health page says to heat the rooms you use regularly, including your bedroom, to at least 18°C if you can.
You can’t feel the difference between 16 and 20°C at the bedroom door, so get a thermometer. A colour-changing one such as the Tommee Tippee GroEgg2 doubles as a night light. Put it near the bed, not next to the heater, so it reads what your child is actually sleeping in.
What a heater costs to run this winter
A heater’s wattage tells you how fast it uses electricity: a 2kW heater on full uses 2 kilowatt-hours (kWh) an hour.
Ofgem’s price cap page, which I checked on 19 October 2026, gives an average electricity unit rate of 26.32p per kWh for 1 October to 31 December 2026, by Direct Debit. Your own rate depends on your region, tariff and how you pay. On that average:
| Heater use | Electricity used | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|
| 2kW fan heater, 1 hour on full | 2kWh | about 53p (~$0.70) |
| 1.5kW oil-filled radiator, 1 hour on full | 1.5kWh | about 39p (~$0.52) |
| 2kW heater, 1 hour a night for 30 nights | 60kWh | about £15.79 (~$21) |
| 2kW heater left on full for 10 hours | 20kWh | about £5.26 (~$7) a night |
Those are worst cases: a heater with a thermostat cuts out once the room is warm, so it uses less than its full wattage. But a heater left on all night is the risky choice and the expensive one.
For comparison, the same Ofgem page puts gas at 7.97p per kWh. So per unit, electricity from the plug costs more than three times as much as gas. A plug-in heater makes sense for topping up one room for an hour. It isn’t automatically cheaper than your central heating.
Check whether you get the Warm Home Discount. In England and Wales, gov.uk’s Warm Home Discount page (checked 19 October 2026) says it is a one-off £150 (~$200) off your electricity bill. Universal Credit and Housing Benefit are among the qualifying benefits, as of 23 August 2026. Letters go out between late October 2026 and early January 2027, and if you’re eligible you’ll usually get the discount automatically. My benefits guide for single parents covers the rest of what you might be missing.
Cheaper ways to keep them warm all night
Overnight warmth is a job for bedding and the room itself:
- A sleeping bag instead of a duvet that gets kicked off at 3am. Betteroo has a guide on how to pick a toddler sleeping bag by TOG if you’re choosing one. For older kids, warm pyjamas and an extra blanket on the end of the bed do the same job.
- Close the curtains at dusk. Once the clocks go back on Sunday 25 October, that’s teatime.
- Block draughts. A draught excluder at the bottom of the door, or a rolled towel along a rattly window. My baby sleep on a budget guide has more cheap fixes.
- Don’t overdo it. If the radiators are already on, a baby or toddler in a warm sleeping bag doesn’t need the heater as well. If anything, a flat that’s too hot is the bigger risk.
FAQ
Is it safe to leave a heater on overnight in a child’s room?
Electrical Safety First says running a portable heater overnight is not recommended. Warm the room before bedtime, then switch it off. If you must, the charity suggests an oil-filled radiator, a metre clear of anything flammable.
Which type of heater is safest for a bedroom?
An oil-filled radiator, according to Electrical Safety First. It is relatively low risk for setting nearby things alight, and it keeps giving out heat after it’s switched off. Its fins stay hot, though, so keep small children away until it has cooled.
How much does it cost to run a heater for an hour?
At the average capped electricity rate for October to December 2026 (26.32p per kWh, checked 19 October 2026), a 2kW heater on full costs about 53p (~$0.70) an hour. A 1.5kW radiator costs about 39p (~$0.52).
What temperature should a baby’s room be in winter?
The Lullaby Trust recommends 16 to 20°C. Use a room thermometer and adjust layers rather than heating, and keep the cot away from radiators and heaters.
