Vornado AVH10 Review

This heater lit a flame under the other competition. Below is our explanation of why.

Room Heating

During those long, dark, and cold winter months, it can be challenging to heat any room thoroughly and maintain a reasonable temperature throughout. Here at the GearLab headquarters, our office can see 200-300 inches of snow per year, so we deeply value the importance of a space heater's potential room heating metric, weighing it as 40% of the overall score.

For us to first understand and then give a room heating score for each space heater, we designed a meticulous test in the GearLab HQ tool room. Using eight strategically placed industrial-grade temperature sensors throughout the medium-sized room, we then placed each heater in the same location during every model's test. Starting from our control temperature of 64 degrees Fahrenheit, we turned the heaters onto their highest settings and recorded each sensor's rise in temperature over the course of an hour before compiling and analyzing all data to score accordingly. To our absolute joy, it was only a matter of time before the Vornado AVH10 transformed our tool room from the Himalayas to Jamaica.

By relying on its 1500-watt heating element and a larger, gentle fan rather than simple convection, the Vornado does an incredible job sweeping a warm blanket of air over the entire room. During our in-house test, we noticed that the Vornado had our temperature sensors registering an 8-degree temperature increase over 65 minutes. Its simple power, temp, and fan-only setting allows for supreme control, while the LED room temperature display keeps you up to date with your climate at a glance.

As a backup test for all of our metrics, we also used our hanging sheet and thermal camera, and each heater was turned perpendicular to the sheet in order to observe and record how effective and efficient each heater was at moving hot air out of its grille. Once we turned on the Vornado, we immediately noticed that its fan excelled at dispersing a solid cone profile of heat throughout the entirety of our room. Not only did the Vornado do well at baking those hard-to-reach corners and crevices, but it also has a fan-only mode for when ambient temperatures rise and the snow melts on those warm afternoons.

Direct Heat

Direct heat is often most important for people who work in environments such as a large barn, woodshop, or garage. It can be especially helpful when you need to thaw out your fingers or toes in a hurry before getting back to the project at hand. It's important for us to test the Direct Heat metric properly, seeing as it weighs 25% of the overall score.

We test and calculate each heater's direct heat metric by hanging a sheet and placing a horizontal set of 5 sensors spread out along a 6-foot distance. We start the room at our 64-degree control temperature, place each heater in the same spot, and then observe each heater's capabilities through a thermal camera for 5 minutes of runtime before recording the rise in temperature from each sensor. Despite having near-epic room heating capabilities, the Vornado AVH10 fell far short of the mark regarding its direct heat potential.

The Vornado can be too much in certain situations — the heater's large fan and incredible heating capabilities immediately made our small enclosed room too hot. We began sweating swiftly before turning it down and moving it away. With this in mind, we had to take this heater outside to the warehouse for our tests, hoping it would perform better on a chilly and drafty morning. We again stumbled into an issue: the hot air would rise too quickly from the heater, and we couldn't quite squeeze enough warmth out of the unit without standing directly over it. Despite these minor flaws, our backup perpendicular sheet test proved that the Vornado worked hard enough to force air almost five feet out of the front of the grille, making it work immensely well from a further distance in a larger room. We recommend this space heater for someone working in a basement office or detached unit.

When it comes to direct heat, every space heater is basically a high-energy heating element combined with a powerful fan that can become dangerous without the proper safety protection in place. For good measure, we tested the safety of each space heater reviewed, and the Vornado passed again with the best marks in our grille temperature test, registering only 120 degrees Fahrenheit. It also shuts off in just 10 seconds during our overheat protection test and even has a tip-over protection button on the bottom, making for the best set-and-forget space heater throughout our lineup. For more information on how we tested for safety in each heater, go take a look at our in-depth How we test space heaters article.

Consistent Warmth

Whether you live or work in an environment where the winters can gnaw and bite from all sides, it is crucial to have your whole body heated and your back covered. With a 25% weight of the total score, we consider a multitude of elements before awarding each heater its final Consistent Warmth metric score.

More than one feature on a heater can either help or hinder this score, from unique heating element design and interchangeable fan speeds to oscillation mode and temperature set functions. We were delighted to find that the Vornado AVH10 showed up with its flame stoked for our Consistent Warmth metric.

After sitting in front of the Vornado and testing all of its fan speeds, temperature settings, and close vs. Far placement, we found that this smaller unit was our most consistent heat source throughout the entire lineup of tested space heaters. The Vornado does not have an oscillating function; therefore, when it came to keeping our own temperatures unchanged, this unit provided a constant flow of heat directly on the subject without moving back and forth.

Another feature allowing us more consistent warmth was the Vornado's room temperature setting, which turns the heating unit on as the temperature drops and then turns off when the room heats up beyond your desired setting. This feature made for a very dependable and constant heater that didn't create hotspots during use. The only downside to the Vornado comes when starting with a cold or rather drafty room. It takes quite a while for this heater to catch up with the cold, and any breeze can somewhat diminish the effectiveness of the Vornado.

Sound

Despite the Sound Metric only accounting for 10% of the total score, it is more than a reasonable factor to consider if you own an easily disrupted pet or have a young child at home. That being said, almost anyone can appreciate near silence when it comes to functional technology within the household. Any unit with a fan can create a bit of noise, and the Vornado AVH10 was no different.

We test each unit's sound output with a professional sound meter and take plenty of time listening for any irritating or frustrating squeaks, squeals, or grinds associated with every product. While all of the heaters we tested were between 39.3-47.7 dBa and most likely wouldn't disturb a child's sleep, we were more than pleased when we tested the Vornado. The noise was barely over 44 decibels, which most likely wouldn't bother or annoy your sleeping angel.

The AVH10 is more or less a heating unit with a fan, and we weren't really surprised to find that the noise coming from the heater did not make any difference in our daily activities. Fortunately, the Vornado also didn't have any irritating sounds, grinds, or noises. When the environment was dead still, we could hear the Vornado fan kick on when the room got too cold, and we noticed crickets when it would shut off.

Should You Buy the Vornado AVH10?

If you want to fill an average room with a blanket of tropical island breeze, then the Vornado AVH10 is a near-perfect product. It's not loud, has very consistent warmth, and will easily heat up your office, bedroom, or small living room with no more than a light whisper from the fan. Unfortunately, without an oscillating function and by doing a poor job at directly heating any subject, this may not be the heater for someone coming in from the auto shop to stand directly in front of a blasting heat source to warm up. Despite that, anyone looking for a simple and straightforward heat source should strongly consider the Vornado.

What Other Space Heater Should You Consider?