Best Plug-In Car Heater of 2020
Car heaters can be quite a useful accessory as it does not only heat up your car, but it can also help you defrosting the windows. These types of heaters not only that can produce a pretty good heating power that can reach the desired temperature within a short period of time, but most of the times their design is quite compact and won’t bother the driver or any other passage at all.
Unfortunately, by not paying enough attention when choosing your heater or not paying enough attention to instructions and specification, you may end up with a product that won’t last too long either because its quality either by using it in a wrong manner (it is not unexpected for car heaters to overheat and break).
As you can find a lot of car heaters on the market, you may have to spend some time researching car heaters in order to get a proper one, otherwise, you may not get something that meets your expectations (of course you can be lucky and get a good product without doing proper research, however, the chances of this happening are quite low).
Best Plug-In Car Heater of 2020
Zerostart 2600900
Zerostart heater is a powerful heater that will warm your vehicle in no time. It is easy to install and it has a compact design. The perfect place to install it is under the dash or on the floor as it has a mounting bracket. It has a safety sensor that will automatically turn the heater off when it reaches a high temperature.
However, you don’t need to worry that you will have to manually turn it on again as it will resume the heating after the cooling-off period, this period can take about 15 to 30 minutes. Zerostart heater is a perfect choice for cold winters as it is able to keep your vehicle warm and dry every day as it is able to run 24 hours a day without fail.
Key points:
- A safety system that automatically turns off the heater and resumes the heating after cooling off period
- Easy to install
- Compact design
- Able to run 24 hours/day
Jingou Car Heater
Jingou car heater provides two functions in one device, it can be used for both heating and cooling. You can simply switch between heating or cooling by pressing a button. It is a perfect choice for defrosting and defogging windows as it has a 360 degrees rotation angle, therefore it does not require dismounting it to make it face the window.
Jingou heater is able to heat in less than one minute and it has a safety function that will automatically turn it off. The setup process is quite simple, you only need to fit it on the desired spot and just plug it in the cigarette lighter plug. Also, it has a low noise output that won’t bother you on long-time usage.
Due to its pleasant design, you won’t have to worry about your car’s aesthetics as it would look good in any car.
Key points:
- Safety system
- 360-degree rotation angle
- Easy set-up
- Heats in a short period of time
- Heating and cooling functions
Ferryone Defogger
Ferryone Defogger fan operates at 12 volts and it has a great heat output. Due to its size, the installation process is quite easy as it does not take a lot of space. It is also easy to remove, and you can change its place whenever you need as you don’t need to tie it or even drill holes. Its flexible arm makes it convenient as it can be set in a different position and it can face different directions without the need for dismounting it.
Ferryone Defogger fan has an increased air circulation system with the option to control the directional speed. On the side of aesthetics, it is not lacking at all as it is quite compact and it has a modern design.
As it is a ceramic heater, its cooling proprieties are superior to most heaters and it can be used for a longer amount of time.
Key points:
- 360-degree rotation
- Quick and easy to install
- Suitable for defrosting and defogging
- Power failure protection
Lavizo Heater
This heater is a good choice not only for defrosting and defogging but as well for warming your vehicle. It has a 360-degree rotation angle, therefore you can easily change the direction it is facing without the need of dismounting it and placing it in other places. It is suitable for any season of the year as it can provide great heating or cooling power.
The heater presents a handle that makes it easy to use for widow defrosting as you can easily dismount it from its holder and use it directly on the frozen parts of the window. It is made of heat resistant ABS materials that will lower the chances of overheating and causing fires.
Also, it has a safety power-off protection that will automatically turn off the heater at high temperatures that may represent a risk.
Key Points:
- 360-degree rotation angle
- Hand holder that can make it usable even when dismounted
- Made of heat resistant materials
- Auto turn off safety system
- Can provide both cooling and heating
Windshield Car Heater
Using this heater, you won’t experience cold trips in your car anymore, it has a high heating power with low energy consumption. The heater can resist to temperature as high as 180 degrees Fahrenheit without any chance of overheating as it is made of ADC engineering flame retardant materials.
You can easily switch between cooling and heating by pressing just one button, therefore it can be used in both cold winters or hot summers. Besides the high-quality material, the heater has an overheat protection and it comes with 3 conventional fuses. The heater is equipped with a folding handle that makes it easy to when you need to reach certain parts of the window for defrosting or defogging.
Key Points:
- Folding handle that eases the defrosting process
- Heat resistant materials
- Can provide both cooling and heating
- Great heat resistance
Mr. Heater F242010 MH4GC Golf Cart
Although it is presented as a golf cart heater, this small device can be used for cars and camping without any problems. With so many positive reviews on the internet, this portable heater made its way in the tops. Having an ergonomic design makes it easier to fit in any standard cup holder, but it is important to keep the heat away from the windows as the temperature can change suddenly and it can crack or damage the window.
The best feature this product has it’s the automatic oxygen shut-off system, but unfortunately, it does not have a heat controller therefore when it gets too warm you have to turn it off manually. Its runtime is 5.5 hours, therefore its suitable even for long trips.
Key points:
- Easy to use
- Can be used for golf carts, cars, trucks even for tractors
- Ergonomic design
- 5.5 hours runtime
Best Plug-in Car Heater Buying Guide
The first step in choosing a car heater is choosing the type of heater you are looking for.
As you may already know, you can find different types of heaters on the market and each of them work in different ways and may produce a slightly different outcome (however, all of them have a quite good heating power, the main difference being the maximum operating temperature, the speed the heaters reach that temperature, some of them operate for a certain amount of time then automatically turn off as a safety measure).
Types of heaters
Convection Heater: Convection heaters produce heat by drawing the cold air over a heating element. As this type of heater release the hot air around then gather cold air in the heating compartment and then it releases it and repeat this process over and over again until the desired temperature is reached. As this heater relies on a closed volume of air, it is more suitable for sealed vehicles.
Ceramic Heaters: Ceramic heaters presents an advantage over other heaters that uses metallic heating elements because ceramic cools down way faster than these types of elements. It is less likely to overheat a ceramic heater and burn it than the other ones, therefore the main advantage is represented by safety.
Fan Heaters: Fan heaters are the fastest way to heat your car. As the hot air is circulated among the vehicle you will experience fast heating within all the car at the same time. Also, these types of heaters are quite compact and won’t bother the driver or the passengers. However, this performance comes with a risk, compared to other types of heaters it is more likely for a fan heater to overheat and at worst cases even to cause fires. Also, fan heaters produce way more noise compared to other types of heaters.
Choosing right
In this list, I prepared some things that you should consider before buying a car heater. The heater does not have to present all these features at the same time as some features may not meet your needs, however, it should have some of them in order to avoid a poor-quality heater.
Type of heater
As I mentioned before, you can find different types of heater. You should pick the type you need considering your priorities. If you want a heater for cold mornings to heat your car fast and defrost your windows, then a fan heater may be a better choice for you. If you don’t mind trading the heating time for safety, then a ceramic heater may be the type of heater you are looking for. Or if you want a heater for a longer period of time usage, a convection heater may be your best choice. Therefore, before choosing the heater think about how you are going to use it and why do you need it.
Consider the noise
Noise can be quite bothersome especially when you are going on a long trip. If you don’t mind the noise, then this section does not apply to you, however, you should think twice before skipping this paragraph. As most people use to listen to music in their cars, it is not a pleasant situation when you are not able to listen to your favourite song due to the noise produced by the fan.
If you are going to use the heater for a shorter period of time, then noisier heaters won’t be a problem. However, take some time to think before purchasing a noisier heater as using it on long trips may become a pain.
Consider the energy
As the heater will drain the energy from your car, it won’t affect you that much as the car recharges the battery while running. However, in unpleasant cases when you forget the heater on after turning off your vehicle, it may even drain all your vehicle’s battery and make it impossible to put it back on the road until you either recharge the battery either buy a new one (this option can be quite costly).
The battery drain should not be your only concern as a heater that is turned on for a long period of time can even cause a fire if it overheats. However, some cars stop the energy alimentations of all sockets when turned off so if your car is able to do this, you are quite lucky as you are out of this trouble.
