As temperatures dip and living rooms start to feel flat, a compact flame‑effect fan heater is turning heads for mixing atmosphere with real, targeted warmth at a price most households can stomach.
A fireplace look without masonry
The Homday 2‑in‑1 unit pairs a convincing flame display with a simple fan heater, serving the fireplace vibe to flats and small houses that lack a chimney. The LED flame bed flickers with a gentle, amber glow and gives a room the soft focus that people associate with an open fire, minus soot, logs or a single building permit.
Its neat, black steel shell blends into modern spaces as easily as it does rustic corners. Because it’s compact and freestanding, you can shift the mood in seconds: next to a reading chair, beneath a TV cabinet, or in a guest room that needs charm as much as heat.
The flames are for mood, the fan is for comfort, and both can run together or separately to suit the moment.
Heat where you need it
Beyond the glow, the practical draw is simple: two heat settings that match real life. Mornings and late evenings often need a boost; afternoons usually don’t. With a flick of a switch you choose between 1000 W for gentle background warmth or 2000 W for a quick temperature lift after you walk in from the cold.
| Mode | Power | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Eco | 1000 W | Maintaining comfort in small rooms (about 8–12 m²), evening ambience with low running cost |
| Boost | 2000 W | Rapid warm‑up, chilly mornings, spot heating in spaces up to roughly 12–18 m² |
| Flame‑only | Lighting | Cosy glow without heating when the room already sits at a comfortable temperature |
Safety and simplicity built‑in
Setup takes as long as plugging in a kettle. There’s no flue to fit, no venting, and no service appointment to book. An automatic overheat cut‑out adds peace of mind for families, while the metal body gives a reassuring, weighty feel on the floor or a low sideboard.
Plug, switch, warm: no chimney, no smoke, no annual maintenance, and a built‑in overheat guard.
What you get for under €190
Retailers list the Homday 2‑in‑1 at under €190, which converts to about £165 at today’s rates. It’s sold with a two‑year guarantee, and the headline package is straightforward: a flame‑effect display that can run on its own, a fan heater with two levels, and a compact form that doesn’t steal space from your furniture.
- Price bracket: under €190 (about £165)
- Heat output options: 1000 W or 2000 W
- Use modes: heat + flame, heat only, or flame only
- Build: black steel finish for easy styling
- Protection: automatic overheat shut‑off
- Guarantee: 2 years
Running costs: do the maths before you switch on
Portable electric heaters turn power into heat at near 100% efficiency, so your running cost depends almost entirely on your tariff and the wattage you choose. On a typical UK unit rate of 23–30 p/kWh:
- 1000 W (1 kW) costs roughly 23–30 p per hour
- 2000 W (2 kW) costs roughly 46–60 p per hour
Now apply that to a realistic evening. Say you run the flame‑only effect for three hours while you watch a film and chat, then add heat at 1000 W for 90 minutes, with a 15‑minute 2000 W boost at the start:
- Flame‑only: pennies per hour (LED lighting load)
- 1000 W for 1.5 h: about 35–45 p
- 2000 W for 0.25 h: about 12–15 p
Total for the evening sits around 50–60 p on mid‑range tariffs. If you currently heat the whole home with central heating for those same hours, zoning one room with a portable heater can reduce consumption across the rest of the house. In well‑insulated small rooms, households often report double‑digit percentage savings when they heat only the space they occupy.
Who this suits best
- Flat dwellers who can’t install a stove or real fire
- Home workers needing fast comfort in a small office
- Renters who want ambience without drilling, venting or paperwork
- Families seeking a safe‑feeling focal point for evenings
- Owners of guest rooms that feel cold or characterless
Points to weigh up before you buy
Fan heaters move air, which some people find noticeable during quiet TV scenes. The unit needs a clear zone in front to push warmth into the room; soft furnishings or long curtains will blunt its effect. As with any plug‑in heater, avoid extension leads and place it on a stable, hard surface. Keep it well away from textiles and never cover the grille. It’s best treated as a room‑by‑room solution rather than a whole‑house answer.
Why the flame effect changes the feel of a room
Humans read flickering, warm‑white light as comfort. The low, shifting brightness cues relaxation and conversation while masking the starkness of early nights. Because the Homday’s flame effect operates without heat, you can keep that ambience on mild evenings or during a family film, then add warmth only when you need it.
Make the most of it: placement, pairing and small upgrades
Give the heater a clear path to where you sit. Position it diagonally across from your sofa, not behind a coffee table. Pair it with thick curtains drawn at dusk to trap the heat, and pop a draught excluder along leaky door thresholds. A simple plug‑in timer can pre‑warm the room for 20 minutes before you wake, so you start the day without reaching for the 2 kW boost.
If you run on a smart tariff with cheaper off‑peak rates, shift chores like laundry and dishwashing to the low‑cost window and keep the heater for targeted comfort in peak hours. That combination squeezes more value from each kilowatt‑hour without sacrificing cosiness.
Alternatives worth a look for different needs
- Oil‑filled radiators: slower to heat, but they hold warmth and run quietly, good for bedrooms.
- Ceramic fan heaters: compact and nimble; some add thermostats and tip‑over protection.
- Infrared panels: radiant warmth that heats people and surfaces, not air; useful in draughty spaces.
- Convector panels: gentle, even heat for longer sessions, often wall‑mountable in tight rooms.
Extra context for savvy buyers
Look at the heater as both a mood piece and a tool for zoned heating. The mood lets you turn down the main thermostat a notch without feeling deprived. The tool gives you quick, controllable warmth where you spend time. Combine those two and you gain comfort while nudging down overall consumption. If your main boiler lacks smart zoning, this small box acts as your manual zone, one room at a time, for under €190.
For households with children or pets, create a buffer zone with a low side table or a plant stand at the flanks to guide traffic away from the front grille. If you live in a very small studio, measure your sockets and plan a cable route that avoids doorways. Those tiny adjustments keep the flame effect as the star and the heat exactly where you want it.
