I tested the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S and here's why I'd choose it over an oil-filled radiator every day

I'm not a fan of the colder seasons and never will be. Give me the heat of the summer any day of the week. But, even though I hate the cold, when it comes to switching my heating on, rising energy bills mean I'm loathe to flick the switch until it's absolutely necessary.

Add into the mix the fact I work from home and live in a Grade II listed apartment with single glazed windows, and it becomes a battle of extra layers and jumpers vs paying more to be warm, as soon as the temperature drops outside.

So when I was offered the chance to review the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S I was intrigued enough to give it a blast. Having tried oil filled radiators and fan heaters in the past I wasn't convinced it would do the trick, but ended up being pleasantly surprised by the results. In fact I liked it so much I've probably convinced some of the other HBR team to try it out too.

Heater specification

Petite but powerful are the two words that spring to mind when looking at the specification for the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S. Suitable for use around the home (excluding bathrooms and outdoors), its main features are:

• Product dimensions: 28×18×31.5cm
• Product weight: 2.93kg
• Number of speeds: 6
• Adjustable speed
• Adjustable temperature
• Adjustable tilt head
• Child Lock
• Digital display
• Auto shutoff
• 3D whole room heating with vertical and horizontal oscillation
• 2000W Hyperamics™ 2s instant heat
• 8-layer safety protection
• HyperSilent™ 34 dB whisper-quiet
• App controllable from anywhere

First impressions

The Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater arrived neatly boxed and on first impressions looks much like a floor fan you'd use to cool a room in summer. Turns out you can in fact use it for that, so in theory, this is a 2-in-1 product you can use year round. Handy when air conditioning and fans are becoming a must with climate change.

I tested the MeacoFan Sefte 10" Pedestal Air Circulator in a heatwave to see if I could sleep with it in a bedroom, and the answer was yes. Given the whisper quiet function of the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S, I suspect the answer would be much the same were I testing it in the summer as a fan.

Unpacking it and setting it up was simple. While it comes with an app, which I'll talk about shortly, you can also simply plug and play using the touch panel control or the remote control. Perfect if the heater arrives on a particularly chilly day and you want to set it to work straight away.

There are three main modes – Power Heat, Eco and Fan Only. Eco mode will give you the most efficient usage as once the room has reached a set temperature, the unit will switch off and only turn back on once the room temperature changes.

You can also adjust the degrees at which the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater oscillates, which could be handy if you were using it in a small home office and wanted the heat directed at you for more of the time.

As first impressions go however, it had a clean, contemporary and stylish design. It comes in either black or white, (I've been testing the white) and there really is nothing to dislike about the way it looks. And, if I were to rate whether I felt it was easy to use, I'd say yes. The instructions and controls aren't overly complicated, with options for those who are tech savvy, and those that are less so.

But, are my first impressions right and is it easy to use?

Using the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714s

As mentioned, there's a choice of three control options – touch panel, remote control and app, and these are all explained in the simple Quick Start Guide, or in more detail in the small, but perfectly succinct instruction manual.

I started by testing the touch panel. It has 6 main buttons with some having more than one function. However, one initial downside of the heater touch panel is that when the heater is in use, it's usually going to be at floor level. While the heater is light, and small enough to place on a surface, as heat rises, and the heater oscillates 60° vertically and 90° horizontally, placing it on the floor will give you the best reach.

So, if you have misplaced the remote for any reason, you would find yourself crouching on the floor to adjust the settings. It's light enough to lift up and place on a surface to adjust, but nonetheless it could temper your opinion of it if you don't want to use the remote or app.

The remote has the same buttons as the control panel making it easy to understand what button does what. Again, nothing really negative to comment about the remote as it's simple, white and uncomplicated to use once you've checked the quick start guide.

However, if you're looking for full functionality and are a fan of smart home devices which are usually controlled via an app, the Dreo app is for you. In fact I was surprised at how quick and easy it was to set the app up and start using it to control the heater.

I downloaded the app, connected it to my bluetooth and wi-fi, the app then searched and found the heater on the network. It's also worth bearing in mind I was sat upstairs doing this but the heater was downstairs. It gives you option to name the priduct, choose its location and then set it up to work with other smart home apps that are voice activated, such as Alexa and Siri.

However, what I also like about the app is that it gives you the ability to set schedules for the heater, meaning you can warm a room before you even enter it. And, as long as you've set the 'on' schedule to run usingEco mode and specified your temperature, you can be confident that if it's unseasonably warm one day, the heater simply won't switch on.

As I've been testing the heater in the living room, I've set it to come on in the mornings and switch off 30 minutes later. While it's not on for the full 30 minutes (it heats the room jup up in around 5-10 minutes maximum at the time of writing, and switches off once it reaches that heat), I've selected an off time I don't have to worry about it running when there's no-one in the room during the day.

If you are concerned about usage, the app shows you how often it is running so you can also make any minor scheduling tweaks as required.

Were my first impressions correct? I'd have to say yes. There are really no complicated switches, buttons or instructions. It heats quickly and if you want it to just be a product you plug in and switch on and switch off as required, it can be. Or, if you prefer to set it up and leave it alone, you can do that too.

Final verdict

While using the Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S is, without any doubt, in the easy-to-use category, it's impossible to come to a final verdict without mentioning cost. Particularly given I've said I'd use it over an oil-filled radiator, but have also said energy bills are an issue. Do the maths and there's no escaping the fact this heater is more expensive than oil filled radiator running costs, if you were to run it for a long period of time.

At current energy prices as of October 2025, as this heater is 2000W it would cost around 53p per hour to run. However, given how quickly it gets to work, the reality of running it for that long at any one point is unlikely.

So, what are the main reasons for me preferring it to an oil filled radiator?

One reason is portability. While oil filled radiators are such as the De'Longhi Dragon 4 TRD40820T Oil Filled Radiator from Amazon aren't particularly bulky and have wheels, they are still cumbersome enough to make moving them around more difficult. And, if you wanted to move them to a different floor, you would need to be strong enough to carry them up or down stairs.

The Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S on the other hand is light, portable, has a good length power lead and could be moved around your home, as you change location, thus saving you money in the long run as you wouldn't need to buy as many individual units.

Secondly, while some oil filled radiators have vents that blow heat out, the heat from a radiator is best when you're closer to it, making it more limited as to where you can place it. Plus, that direct heat can get too hot, so you switch if off meaning both you and the room will drop in temperature.

The Dreo Smart Whole Room Heater 714S blows the heat around a far larger space, removing any immediate chill, and creating a better overall ambient temperature in a quicker space of time. My apartment living room has three big sash windows and yet even in this relatively uninsulated space, I've not needed to switch it back on again once the room has warmed up.

As the winter progresses, this may change, but then I'll mainly be using the heater in my bedroom which doubles as my home office. I'm confident that with the bedroom door closed, and the heater on the eco setting, it will provide the occasional burst of heat to my working environment and prevent me from needing to have the central heating on when there's only one person at home. In the long run, there's no doubt that will be more cost effective than heating the whole apartment all day.

And finally there's the issue of value for money. This fan doesn't have just one function, it has two. In the summer it can be used in fan mode to circulate air around. No, it's not a portable air conditioner, but as long as you've followed the tips for keeping a room cool, it will help keep you cool too. Less expenditure, less loft storage needed to place out of season items and again, it's light enough to move around and cool different areas of your home easily and efficiently.