This compact smart heater easily warms up my living room without taking up much space

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Access to a reliable space heater can mean the difference between being cold and comfortable in your home, basement, or garage — and this little heater packs the necessary punch.

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In my home, we have two furnaces that do a remarkable job of keeping my wife and me nice and toasty. However, the basement — where I work out — doesn’t enjoy the same warmth as the rest of the house. I’ve always hesitated to use a space heater in the basement because the room isn’t finished, it can get quite messy, and there’s not always room on the floor for a space heater among all the exercise equipment.

So, when Dreo provided its wall-mounted space heater to review, I was happy to give it a try.

My experience

First, I did not bother with the Dreo space heater’s smart aspect. We’ve decommissioned our Alexa devices in favor of Google Home speakers. We recently switched network providers, and I couldn’t get Alexa to connect to the new network, no matter how much I tried. I’d always found Alexa devices problematic for connectivity, and the Google Home speakers were absolutely painless to deploy.

That said, after using the heater for a few weeks, I found I did not miss the smart features because it does a spectacular job without Alexa or the mobile app.

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Our basement gets cold in winter. Normally, when I’m working out, I have to dress as if I’m exercising outside. Thanks to the Dreo, that is not the case. I cranked the heater to its highest setting and enjoyed the warmth.

Now, I’ve tried to do the same thing with other space heaters, of which I have two — a radiator and a traditional heater. Neither of my other heaters could pull their weight in the basement. The Dreo, however, had me feeling nice and cozy as I sweated it out. That feature alone sold me on the heater.

The addition of the well-designed remote was also a plus. When things got too warm, I could lower the heat or turn off the device without missing a beat on either the rower or treadmill.

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One thing to note is that our basement is 900 square feet, so a space heater won’t be able to warm the entire area. However, I placed the heater to focus on my exercise equipment, and that side of the basement was considerably warmer than the other. If you were to use the Dreo in a bedroom, living room, TV room, or any other location that isn’t a giant, unfinished space, I’m confident this heater would keep you feeling perfectly comfortable all winter long.

A nit to pick

The only issue I had with the Dreo heater was that the oscillating fin could only be paused at three specific positions. When you stop the oscillations, the fin either rests at the top-most, center-most, or bottom-most location. That’s fine if you don’t need it to be pumping out heat to a specific plane along its vertical trajectory. But if you want to get specific, you’re out of luck.

ZDNET’s buying advice

Besides that small issue, I found theDreo Smart Wall Heaterto be the best space heater I’ve ever used. And at its sale price of $130, it’s worth every penny if you hate being cold.

If you need to warm up a room and are tired of traditional space heaters that tend to be in the way and underperform, this little heater is an absolute winner. Not only will it keep you warm, but the heater also gives you complete control over its operation.

The specs

• 120-degree vertical oscillation to evenly distribute heat
• 89% air-heating volume
• Smart control, which allows you to schedule heating hours, access heater settings, and even use voice control through Alexa
• PTC ceramics brings instant and steady heat
• Automatic LED panel light adjustment so the heater doesn’t interrupt your sleep
• Simple installation using the included template
• Remote control from anywhere in the room
• Detachable filter
• Convenient cable recess
• Sound level — 41dB
• ELT-listed
• 120 volts
• 3 speeds
• Dimensions — 4.52″ D x 20.15″ W x 13.18″ H
• Weight — 9.15 pounds