4 Best Low-Wattage Space Heaters (Below 500 Watts, 4.5 Amps)

A standard heater is powered by 1500 watts and draws 13.6 amps on a 110V circuit. If you are camping or in an RV, that 13.6A amp draw can deplete your energy super quickly. To enjoy prolonged heating at lower electricity consumption, you can opt for low-wattage space heaters. To help you out, we have prepared a shortlist of the best low-wattage heaters with below 500W wattage, below 4.5A amp draw, and below $40.

Low-wattage heaters are especially useful for RVs. Even if you have a 50 amp RV, you will probably want to reduce the amp draw of the space heater. Here is how much standard-wattage vs low-wattage heaters will reduce RV electricity supply:

• 30 amp RV generates 3,600 watts. The standard 1500W heater will reduce the available wattage to 2,100 watts. With a simple low-watt low-amp 500W heater, you will still have 3,100 watts available for other uses.
• 50 amp RV generates 6,000 watts. The standard 1500W heater will reduce the available wattage to 4,500 watts. With a simple low-watt low-amp 500W heater, you will still have 5,500 watts available for other uses.

Here’s why low-wattage heaters are so useful for camping:

• A standard 1500-watt heater will drain a 100Ah 12V lead-acid battery (with a 50% discharge rate) in 24 minutes.
• The same battery will be able to keep a 200-watt low-wattage heater going for 3 hours (or more).

In short, heating drains batteries very quickly. Opting for a low-wattage heater means that you will be able to sustain the heating output for at least a few hours.

Before we check the list of the best low-wattage low-amp heaters on the market, let’s look at are wattage, amps, and BTU heating output ranges that these low-wattage space heaters operate at:

Wattage Of Low-Watt Heaters (500 Watts Or Below)

More than 70% of all heaters are standard 1500-watt heaters. You will also find a lot of 1000-watt heaters.

The rough threshold for low-watt heaters is usually around 500 watts. If a space heater draws 500 watts or less, it is considered a low-watt heater.

On the market, there are a lot of 500-watt or below heaters to choose from. You have 400-watt, 300-watt, and even 200-watt space heaters.

Namely, they don’t really make the very small 100-watt or smaller space heater because these would produce less than 500 BTU of heating output. Even with the best small-wattage heater, you will still need at least 500 BTU of heating output to heat up a tent or a smaller RV.

Amps Of Low-Watt Heaters (4.5A Peak Amp Draw)

If you have an RV, you usually have either a 30-amp or 50-amp generator. Everything that draws a lot of amps (like standard 1500W heaters that draw 13.6 amps at 110V), will reduce your electricity capacity.

Low-wattage heaters, obviously, draw a lot fewer amps and are considered low-amp heaters. All of these heaters are either on 110V or 120V voltage circuits. Here are how much amps space heaters draw:

• Standard 1500W heater will draw 13.6 amps at 110V or 12.5 amps at 120V.
• Low-wattage 500W heater will draw 4.5 amps at 110V or 4.2 amps at 120V.
• Lowest-wattage 200W heater will draw 1.8 amps at 110V or 1.7 amps at 120V.

 

It is also important to note that these heaters can work with 220V voltage if you have a 110/220V converter (should cost about $50). This will reduce the amp draw even further (by half). Example: 500-watt heater on 220V has a minuscule 2.3 amp draw.

As you can see, by opting for low-wattage heaters you can reduce the total amp draw by more than 10 amps. That will save you 33% of electricity capacity in 30 amp RVs and 20% of electricity capacity in 50 amp RVs.

Heating Output Of Low-Amp Heater (Up To 1706 BTU)

Obviously, lower wattage equates to lower heating output. All electric heaters are almost 100% efficient; that means that all the electric input is converted into heating output.

According to the heating rule of thumb, you would need about 30 BTU per sq ft of living space (with an 8 ft ceiling).

Here are the heating outputs (BTUs) and coverages of low-wattage heaters:

• Standard 1500W heater produces 5118 BTU of heating output and can adequately heat up spaces with up to 171 square feet.
• Low-wattage 500W heater produces 1706 BTU of heating output and can adequately heat up spaces with up to 57 square feet.
• Lowest-wattage 200W heater produces 682 BTU of heating output and can adequately heat up spaces with up to 23 square feet.

That means that low-wattage space heaters are perfect for RVs and the lowest-wattage 200W heater are perfect for camping (heating up 2-person, 3-person, and 4-person tents). You can also use these low-wattage heaters as desktop heaters.

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Essentially, low-watt heaters are very inexpensive. Even the best low-wattage low-amp heaters will likely cost less than $40. With the wattages, amps, and BTUs considered, let’s have a look at the best low-wattage space heaters on the market today:

Best Low Wattage Low Amp Space Heaters

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1. Best Low Wattage Space Heater For RVs: Brightown Mini Heater

Brightown mini heater has everything we would want from a perfect low-wattage heater. It has a low watt and amp draw, produces a sizable over 1000 BTU heating output, has very small dimensions, is quite cheap, and, very importantly, is quite durable and reliable.

Namely, the Brightown heaters if a 400-watt heater that draws only 3.6 amps at 110V or 3.3 amps at 120V amps. That means that even if you have a 30 amp 120V RV generator, you will still have 26.7 amps left if you run the Brightown heater at 100% heating output.

With 400-watt electric power input, this heater can produce 1365 BTU of heating output. In accordance with the 30 BTU per sq ft heating rule of thumb, it can provide heating to 46 sq ft.

You also have a 5 1/2 ft long cord (useful for office use), overheating protection, ceramic surface (won’t get burned), and an ETF certificate for safety.

It costs about $40.

All in all, the Brightown mini heater is very small, has low wattage and low amp draw, and produces quite a lot of heating BTU output. As such, it is the best low-wattage space heater for RVs, camping, or if used as a desktop heating in the office:

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2. Lowest Wattage Desktop Space Heater: Lasko MyHeat Heater

Lasko MyHeat is the smallest heater on the market. It is a pocket size 200-watt lowest-wattage heater perfect for desktops. If you want a small electric heater for your office to produce some additional heating, Lasko MyHeat is your go-to option.

With 200-watt power input, the Lasko MyHeat is one of the few heaters on the market with below 2 amp draw on either 110V or 120V voltage circuit. With this power input, the heater will produce 682 BTU (British Thermal Units) of heating output.

If you apply the heating rule of thumb, this heater can cover spaces with up to 23 sq ft. However, the Lasko MyHeat is not meant to be used as a primary heating system; it is a secondary heating system that can provide supplemental heating.

It is perfect to be used on desktops. It will heat the space surrounding you. However, with the 682 BTU output, this heater is not sufficiently big to heat an entire RV. It can be used in smaller 1-person or 2-person tents.

With a below $25 price tag, the Lasko MyHeat is a very affordable and quick solution as a low-wattage desktop heater:

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3. Best Low Amp Space Desktop Heater For Camping: Honeywell HeatBud

Honeywell HeatBud is one of the most popular low-amp heaters. It can be used as a desktop heater but it comes exceptionally useful as a bigger tent (3-person, 4-person) heater.

The biggest advantage of this heater is its reliability. It is produced by Honeywell; a company well-known for their reliable and good price-performance products.

Wattage-wise, this is a 250-watt heater that can produce 853 BTU of heating output. This is enough to heat up to almost 30 sq ft of living space. Obviously, if you are looking for a good low-wattage heater for camping, the Honeywell HeatBud is small enough and it will provide adequate heating for multiperson tents.

Amp-wise, the amp draw at 110V is minimal: all in all, it will draw 2.3 amps.

The heating output may not be enough to adequately heat bigger 50 amp RVs. If you have a smaller 30 amp RV, the Honeywell HeatBud is a good choice.

All in all, the Honeywell HeatBud is the best low-wattage low-amp heater for bigger tents. It’s very small, lightweight, and it can produce almost 1000 BTU of heating output at a cost of less than $25:

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4. Cheap Low Wattage Space Heater For RV, Camping: Amazon Basics Mini

Amazon products are not always top-notch but the Amazon Basics mini is a good exception here. This is the cheapest low-wattage heater for RVs, camping, and can even be used as a bigger desktop heater.

Namely, the Amazon Basics heater has a 500-watt electric input. That means that it can produce up to 1706 BTUs of heating output. That’s enough to adequately heat spaces with up to 57 square feet. That’s quite a lot for such a small-watt heater.

Despite the significant heating output, the Amazon Basics draws less than 5 amps of electric current (4.5A at 110V, to be exact). That means that you can use it in any RV, hook it up to a battery while camping, or just plug it in into a standard 110/120V outlet if you want to use it at the office.

With about a $20 price tag, it is the cheapest low-wattage heater (even cheaper than the smallest wattage 200-watt heaters). With a significant heating output, it is a go-to choice for bigger 50 amp RVs and bigger 5-person and 6-person tents:

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All in all, these are the basic metrics (wattage, amps, BTUs) we see in low-wattage space heaters for RVs, camping, and supplemental office heating. With this list of the best low-wattage heaters and the basic metrics in mind, you have all you need to make an informed decision on which low-wattage heater to buy.