I used this electric heater for three weeks instead of turning the heating on – it’s powerful, portable and surprisingly quiet

Finding an electric heater that doesn’t take up a lot of floor space, while also offering enough power to actually keep me warm, has always been a nightmare in my small Victorian house. That’s why I was intrigued when I heard the claims that the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S could offer the best of both worlds.

After testing it out for three weeks, I can safely say that those claims aren’t a load of mumbo-jumbo. With this compact electric heater in tow, I’ve been able to keep my central heating off and enjoy the heat that comes with this small-but-mighty appliance - making it one of the best electric heaters I’ve tested so far.

In a nutshell

While it may be a lot smaller than many of the other electric heaters on the market, the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S seriously impressed me during testing. With six heat settings (including three dedicated to cooling, so it can also be used as one of the best fans during the summer months), it helped me stay warm during the chilly month of October when I didn’t want to waste energy by turning on my heating.

As to be expected with any fan heater, it’s not the quietest model out there, but it’s only a little distracting on its highest setting. On its lowest setting, it surprised me with its whisper-quiet noise level, and it was easily drowned out when I was watching TV or listening to music.

It's super portable and lightweight, and its ease of use is unmatched. The app is also particularly handy, allowing you to change everything from the oscillation to your heating schedule from your phone. The ‘Eco’ setting is also a nice touch for those who don’t want to risk wasting any precious energy.

It’s worth noting that the reach of this electric heater is between 15-25m², which is pretty generous and suitable for the standard UK living room (which is around 20m² on average). However, if you have a larger, more open-plan living space, this might not be the right option for you. Unless you buy two of them, of course.

Specifications

• Type: Fan heater
• Wattage: 2000W
• Dimensions: D28cm x W18cm x H31.5cm
• Room coverage: 15-25m²
• Temperature range: 5-35°C
• Noise levels: 36-57dB (tested by us)
• Oscillation: 60° Vertical, 90° Horizontal
• Special features: Adjustable Speed, Adjustable Temperature, Adjustable Tilt Head, Child Lock, Digital Display, Tip Over Protection
• RRP: £99.99

How I tested

Lauren Bradbury

I'm Lauren, Ideal Home's Content Editor for the House Manual section. This means that it's my job to test all kinds of household appliances, from the best vacuum cleaners to heaters just like this one. On this occasion, I tested the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S in my Victorian home for three weeks.

Unboxing, setting up and first impressions

The Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S came in a small, compact box that was extremely light, which I must admit took me by surprise. After all, I knew that it wasn’t going to be the largest electric heater out there, but I didn’t expect it to be quite so small. So, I was eager to get it open and start testing it out.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to put too much effort into this as it arrived fully assembled and ready to be plugged in. All I had to do was throw away a bit of plastic protecting the heater, pop the batteries into the remote, and it was ready to go.

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I then took a look at the handy Quick Start guide, which gave me a speedy rundown of what the onboard controls do and offered a QR code to download the app. The whole process of downloading the app and connecting the heater took all of two minutes, as you just need to make sure that the heater is plugged in and you have your phone’s Bluetooth on.

And with everything set up and ready to go, I took a step back to assess the design of the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S. The first thing that struck me was how sleek it looked, and I loved the white colourway (although you can also buy it in a black colourway from Amazon for a slightly pricier cost of £109.99).

I also thought it seemed way more expensive than it is, not only in terms of its overall design but also in terms of its build quality. Normally, lightweight heaters often feel a bit cheap and flimsy, but the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S looks and feels high quality.

Ease of use

It really is impossible to slip up when it comes to this Dreo heater. That’s because there are actually three ways to control it - through the on-board touch panel controls, the remote control, or the app. I used all three options for the sake of testing, but found myself leaning towards the app most of the time.

In fact, I struggled a little with the touch panel controls because they felt a bit fiddly and sticky. Occasionally, I had to push the buttons a few times for it to register what I wanted, and it just wasn’t as responsive as I’d like. Since I have a habit of misplacing remote controls, it was generally much easier to grab my phone and control everything from there.

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But whatever option you choose to control the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S, there’s definitely no shortage of customisation options. You can choose whether you want to use the ‘heating’ or ‘cooling’ setting, change the fan speed setting, adjust the oscillation (both vertical and horizontal), turn on the child lock, and even set a timer.

In the app, you also have a few other options, like setting up a schedule for the heater to turn on and off at certain times (i.e for an hour before you get home from work, so it takes off the winter chill), and you can set up Alexa or Google Assistant voice controls. Through the app, you can also see your usage in a handy bar chart to help you monitor your energy bills better.

Of course, you can also manually angle the heater with your hands if you want direct heat and it’s not quite hitting the spot. But, in my opinion, the app is where the Dreo heater really shines, and it’s the most user-friendly control option of the lot.

Performance

The beauty of the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S is that it’s actually multi-purpose. And while it’s primarily designed as a heater, half of the six heat settings are dedicated to the ‘cooling fan’ side of things, which means it can also be used as a fan in summer.

As I tested it in October, I primarily used the heating function, especially since I’ve yet to turn my central heating on. And like all fan heaters, it took just a few seconds after turning it on for me to start feeling the effects. The blast of heat (even on the lowest setting) was instantly noticeable, and I could feel it immediately start to heat the whole room.

On one occasion, I used the Dreo heater in my home office as I often struggle to stay warm while working from home. Thanks to the built-in thermostat within the heater, I could see that the temperature in my office had dropped to just 15°C - which is way too cold for my liking.

So, I turned the heater onto its highest setting and timed how long it took to get up to a more comfortable 21°C. Amazingly, it took just 12 minutes to reach my desired temperature. I repeated the process the next day using the lowest setting, and it still only took a very respectable 25 minutes.

All in all, I was very impressed with the performance of the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S. The heat was both powerful and customisable thanks to the different heat settings, and I definitely noticed a big temperature change when I used the oscillation functions. When using these modes, I felt like the whole room was heating up - rather than just the air heading towards me.

At just under 3kg, it was also incredibly easy to move around the house - especially as it also has a carry handle on the back - and I’d actually say that it’s one of the most portable electric heaters I’ve ever used. This allowed me to make use of the impressive performance throughout my entire house, from room to room.

Noise levels

After testing countless electric heaters over the years, I can confidently say that fan heaters are the loudest electric heaters out there. And while Dreo calls this one a ‘Forced Air’ heater, it still offers a fan-like design that normally creates a loud, whirring noise that’s hard to ignore. So, I was a little worried about the noise levels.

However, I shouldn’t have been. On its lowest setting, the Smart Whole Room Heater 714S came in at 36dB on my decibel meter app - which is very close to Dreo’s claims of 34dB, and about the same noise level as a soft whisper.

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The highest heat setting was undoubtedly a bit louder, and I recorded 57dB on my decibel meter app. This is about the same level as light office noise or a normal conversation, but I did find that my TV or music almost drowned it out if I kept it on the highest setting. However, I did have to turn it off on occasion when I had a virtual meeting and found it a little distracting.

Compared to other fan heaters I’ve tested, though, this is hands-down one of the quietest and one that actually really impressed me on the noise front. But if you don’t want your electric heater to make any noise, it’s probably not the right option for you. It’ll be better to opt for a convector or panel heater instead.

Energy use

Fan heaters will never be the cheapest electric heaters to run, as the bladed design and moving parts generally require a lot of power. And in the case of the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S, the 2000W appliance costs around 54p per hour to run at the current energy price cap (which is 26.35 pence per kilowatt hour (kWh)).

Obviously, the cost to run an electric heater at 1000W will be a lot cheaper than the Dreo 714S’s 2000W power output, so it’s worth noting that there are more economical options out there if you want to cut down on your energy costs. This is especially true if you want to run it for long periods at a time. However, this model also comes with an ‘ECO’ mode, which should offer up to 40% energy saving if this is a concern for you.

So, while it’s a little pricey to use on the energy side of things, it doesn’t necessarily have to be if you use this ECO mode. It will automatically turn itself off when it reaches your desired temperature and will switch itself back on when that temperature drops.

Cleaning and maintenance

This Dreo heater doesn’t ask a lot in terms of cleaning and maintenance. The only task Dreo suggests is cleaning the outer surface of the heater and then removing any dust from the air inlets.

To do this, it’s important to unplug the heater first, so you don’t accidentally turn it on and burn yourself. When you’ve done that, you can use a soft, dry cloth to wipe the exterior surface.

Then, turn the heater away from you so you’re looking at the back of the heater (as pictured above), and use a cloth or cotton buds to get into the nooks and crannies of the air inlets.

Whatever you do, you should never use any water or cleaning agents to clean the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S, and you should never have to unscrew any of the components. Of course, you’ll also need to replace the batteries in the remote control eventually.

How does it rate online?

The Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S is a relatively new product, having been launched only in late September 2025. As such, the only reviews on Amazon are from customers who were given a free sample in exchange for a review.

Of those 27 reviews, 22 people gave the heater a 5-star review, with three giving it a 4-star review and one opting for a 3-star review. In general, they were impressed with the small-but-mighty appliance and found it to be incredibly easy to use.

And while these reviews are positive, I will be updating this review in a few months' time, when paying customers have bought the heater with their own money. This, I believe, will paint a fairer picture of the online ratings.

Verdict: Should you buy the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S?

If you’re looking for a small-but-mighty electric heater that won’t break the bank in terms of upfront costs, I really don’t think you can go wrong with the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S. It’s compact enough to be used as a desktop heater if space is at a minimum in your house, but it’ll still heat rooms up to 25m² quickly and efficiently.

During testing, I didn’t have to turn my central heating on at all as I simply carried the heater with me from room to room. And while it’s not the most economical electric heater out there, it’s certainly not the worst - and the Eco mode is a nice touch for those who are conscious about rising energy bills.

The look, design and overall size of the electric heater will also suit every home as it’s not too conspicuous and is both sleek and stylish. Plus, it was a lot quieter than I was expecting. However, it might not be suitable if you have a larger, open-plan house.