I tested this small tower heater, and now my home office is always toasty

If you're after one of the best space heaters to heat up a small space, the Lasko Ellipse CT18950 tower heater definitely ticks those boxes.

Small tower heaters like the Lasko Ellipse are convenient in small rooms, like home offices. They oscillate, which means they spread heat around the room, and they usually pump out enough heat to get 100 square feet toasty warm in short order.

After putting the Lasko Ellipse to the test, I was impressed at how quickly it had heated up a larger, 500-square foot space and maintained the temperature over time. And its oscillation feature charts a wider path than most other units I’ve tested.

Read on to find out if the Lasko tower heater is the perfect fit for your home office or small space.

Lasko Ellipse CT18950 Tower Space Heater review: Price and availability

The Lasko Ellipse Ceramic Tower Heater is available on Amazon for $65. It is also available through Walmart and Home Depot. While there is a Cart function on Lasko’s website, there does not appear to be any way to add items to that cart and complete a purchase. Lasko includes a 3-year warranty on this heater.

Lasko Ellipse CT18950 Tower Space Heater review: Design

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Lasko Ellipse CT18950 Tower Space Heater on floor

The Lasko Ellipse is a tower heater, which basically means it has a tall, thin shape. It’s fixed to a stable base and features a built-in handle at the top so you can move this 4-pound unit around easily.

The touch-sensitive controls are situated on the top of the unit, while the LED display shows the current setting and other information on the top front of the heater. Lasko includes a remote control so you can change settings from afar.

Like many tower heaters, the Lasko Ellipse oscillates side to side to help spread heat throughout the room. But the Lasko beats out many of its competitors with 120 degrees of rotation, as compared to around 70 degrees on other models I’ve tested.

The Lasko Ellipse also features a long, 72-inch power cord, which makes it easy to position the heater in more places throughout a room. That power cord also features an overheat protection to reduce fire risk. The unit itself also features overheat protection on top of tip-over protection.

The Ellipse’s body features a cool-touch housing, which can help prevent burns and other heat risks. If you have children, you’ll appreciate the Ellipse’s child lock feature that prevents the kiddos from changing any settings.

The heater can operate at any of its three settings: low runs at 750 watts, medium at 1,300 watts, and high at 1,500 watts. On top of that, there are two fan speeds to choose from.

The auto-shut-off feature kicks in after 12 hours. You can set the timer to shut the unit off anywhere within those 12 hours, at 30 minute increments. And the Ellipse also has an AutoEco thermostat, which turns the heater down or off when a target temperature is reached, and only re-initiates the heat when it’s needed to reach the target temperature again. This helps the heater use less energy overall.

The slimline design looks modern and not cumbersome. And it's much lighter to carry than the Honeywell 360 Degree Surround Heater, which is another great option for small spaces.

Lasko Ellipse CT18950 Tower Space Heater review: Performance

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Home office:
I first ran the Lasko Ellipse in my home office, which is about 100 square feet. Within just a few minutes (certainly less than 10), the Ellipse had gotten this room toasty, raising the temperature a total of four degrees. It was easily up to the task in this small room.

Additionally, the Ellipse power cord is quite long, so it was easy to find a good spot to test this heater in every room I put it in. The built-in handle is sufficient to carry the 4-pound Ellipse from room to room with no problems.

Bedroom:
Then, I moved the Lasko Ellipse to our master bedroom, which is generally colder than the rest of the house because it’s further away from heat sources, and was built as an addition to the house. We happen to be in a cold snap here in Colorado, so I turned off the main heat to the house to get the room plenty chilly.

The bedroom is about 200 square feet, and the temperature was 60.6 degrees before I started the heater. I turned the Lasko Ellipse to the highest heat and fan settings, with the oscillation turned on. When I checked in 40 minutes later, the temperature in the room had risen to 65 degrees. It hit 67 degrees almost exactly one hour after I turned the heater on. Those are impressive numbers for a heater of this size, and it bests similar heaters I’ve tested in terms of time it took to raise the temperature five degrees.

Living room:
Next, I moved the Lasko Ellipse to my living room, which connects in a semi-open floor plan to the kitchen. All told, the space is just under 500 square feet.

I started the heater as the thermometer in the room read 60.6 degrees. Once again, I ran the unit on the highest settings, with the oscillation on. The thermometer read 66 degrees just 25 minutes later, which seemed a bit too good to be true.

So I turned everything off and reset the experiment, and sure enough, the thermometer recalibrated. The Ellipse still impressed in this room, raising the temperature from 63 degrees to 66 in about 40 minutes, but then it hovered at that temperature for the next 30 minutes. That’s a more realistic performance for a heater of this size.

Still, it’s important to note that the Ellipse was able to maintain that temperature in a larger space on a bitterly cold day. Once again, it outperformed heaters of similar size and function.

It’s also worth noting that the Ellipse oscillation feature moves heat in a wider arc than other heaters I’ve tested. Its 120-degree path is substantially wider than the 70-degree arcs on similar units. The dog seemed to enjoy this, as his favorite chair was on one extreme of that oscillation.

Wattage:
The Lasko Ellipse pulled an average of 1,355 watts while operating on its highest settings. That’s on par with other heaters I’ve tested of this size, though it’s important to note that all space heaters pull a lot of energy. To give perspective, a much larger dehumidifier only pulls about 400 watts of energy during its highest operation settings.

Noise:
Lasko advertises a 40 decibel sound average for the Ellipse. While operating on its highest settings, my decibel meter read an average of about 48 decibels. That’s a bit higher than the advertised level, but within a reasonable range. The Lasko Ellipse is quiet enough to have the heater running in your quiet home office while you’re working, without it disturbing you. However, if you prefer super quiet, the Dyson Purifier Hot + Cool HP07 is quieter.

Lasko Ellipse CT18950 Tower Space Heater review: Verdict

The Lasko Ellipse is a very good tower heater for small and medium size spaces. I would say it will probably meet its match in rooms larger than 500 square feet, but it pumped out an impressive amount of heat in my living room/kitchen, which is about that size. And it maintained the heat setting over time, which bests other heaters I’ve tested of this size and function.

The wide oscillation and the long power cord are nice touches that set the Ellipse apart. And the controls are easy to use, the remote was reliable during all testing, and most importantly, the heating was consistent and powerful. It’s a top choice for small and medium rooms.

If you lack floor space however, the Dreo’s WH517S Smart Wall Heater is a great option for small areas. Bear in mind, that it is wall-mounted only, so it can't be moved from room to room. And if you don't particularly want a tower heater, the Vornado VH200 Heater is an attractive, compact model.