3 Best Space Heaters for Hot Yoga

You can do Hot Yoga on infrared heaters, oil-filled radiators, or even propane gas heaters. For hot yoga, it’s critical that the heater 

• does not auto shut-off
• heats to the desired temperature

Quick answer: The best space heaters for Hot Yoga are the Mr. Heater Big Buddy (propane heater) or the Dr. Infrared Heater. Both heat quickly, don’t turn off and provide enough power to get small rooms to 100°F.

The problem with most space heaters is that they turn off before reaching the 100°F necessary for hot yoga.

Here are my recommendations. Only one heater can provide the full 100°F. However, for the other two heaters, I am going to tell you exactly how you can reach your desired temperature at the end of this article. So, stick out and read the full post!

Recommendations: 5 Best Space Heaters for Hot Yoga

Here are the 3 best space heaters for hot yoga.

#1 Mr. Heater Big Buddy (propane, 100°F)

The Mr. Heater Big Buddy is a propane heater that can easily heat your room to over 100°F. It has a heat capacity of up to 18,000 BTUs, which is 3 times as strong as regular electric space heaters.

The Mr. Heater Big Buddy produces the most heat of all the heaters on this list. However, since it is a propane heater, you can’t just run it electrically.

You have to get refill propane. A regular 20-lb propane tank lasts for a full 108h on low settings on this heater.

On the highest setting, it lasts for 24 hours. In this case, you will need to refill the propane tank twice a year.

On low settings, that’s enough capacity to last you well over a year.

One 20-lb propane refill will cost you around $15. That’s cheaper (per BTU of heat output) than running electric space heaters. Producing the same amount of heat electrically would cost you between $17-$34.

So, the Mr. Heater Big Buddy even saves you money in the long run!

#2 Dr. Infrared Heater (electric, 85°F)

The Dr. Infrared Heater is by far the best and most reliable infrared heater. It is strong enough to heat a small hot yoga room quickly to a maximum temperature of 85°F.

However, that’s just the air temperature. Infrared heaters mainly radiate heat (just like a campfire) instead of heating the air. Raising the air temperature in your room is just one part. Infrared heaters heat the person, not the room. The heat coming out of an infrared heater feels a lot hotter than 85°F.

Therefore, the perceived temperature of the Dr. Infrared Heater is around 100°F, while the actual air temperature is limited to 85°F.

Unfortunately, the thermostat will cut off the heating after reaching 85°F and hold the temperature at 85°F.

The Dr. Infrared Heater runs purely electrically. So, contrasting the propane heater, you won’t need to organize yearly refills. You can just run it off the wall outlet.

#3 Pelonis Oil-filled radiator (electric, 85°F)

The Pelonis Oil-filled radiator is an electrically powered space heater. It heats to a maximum temperature of 85°F.

I included this oil-filled radiator in this list for everyone who has kids or pets running around.

This oil-filled radiator produces the same amount of heat as the previous infrared heater. However, since the heat is not radiated as much, it feels less powerful.

The Pelonis oil-filled radiator distributes the heat by heating the air surrounding the large metal body. Contrasting the previous infrared heater, it does not have any (very) hot parts. Kids and pets can’t really burn themselves on this heater (unless they intentionally try to).

So, it’s the safest option of all three heaters. But it’s also the weakest in terms of perceived heat output.

All of the selected heaters can run continuously for the whole hot yoga session. They don’t overheat and provide an even heat output.

For everyone who is seriously into their hot yoga, I highly recommend getting the propane heater, since it provides so much more heat than the other heaters.

Can Space Heaters run continuously during a Hot Yoga session?

All quality space heaters are able to run continuously for the duration of a hot yoga session. However, cheaply made, low-quality space heaters are not safe to run for longer than 60 minutes at a time, since they overheat quickly.

Space heaters for hot yoga must be able to run for at least 3 hours continuously. The reason is that we have to account for the duration of a hot yoga session plus the heat-up time of the room plus a buffer period for safety reasons.

In general, I don’t recommend using any space heaters where the heat is distributed through plastic vents or heaters that give off a strong artificial smell after the unboxing. That’s usually a sign of low build quality.

All of the recommended space heaters for hot yoga in the previous section are safe for continuous usage over many hours.

Will Space Heaters auto shut-off during your a hot yoga session?

Most electric space heaters auto shut-off over the course of a yoga session. The heater will turn on again after a few minutes to keep the heat at the desired level. You can tell by a clicking noise coming from a relay in the thermostat.

Propane heaters usually don’t automatically shut-off and provide a constant heat output.

Most heaters have an overheat protection that can get triggered when the temperature rises too high. However, during regular hot yoga heating, this should not be the case.

When your heater automatically shuts off due to its overheat protection, then that’s a sign of a fault in the heater. In this case, I recommend getting a new one.

What space heater type is the best for Hot Yoga? (Comparison)

Propane heaters are objectively the best space heaters for hot yoga. They provide enough heat to heat your room to well over 100°F, have a low running cost, and heat up a room quickly.

However, if you have no access to propane refills, you can also get an infrared heater.

Cost of running propane heaters and electric space heaters

According to the heater cost-effectiveness article, a 20-lb propane gas refill is $15.17 at an average propane price of $3.90 per gallon.

One gallon of propane contains 430,000 BTUs of heat energy. In Kilowatt-hours that’s 126kWh.

At an electricity rate of $0.14 to $0.30 per kWh in the US, that’s an average cost of $17.64 to $37.80 for the same amount of heat produced.

That’s why with propane heaters you even save money heating. However, it’s a bit annoying that you can’t just plug them into the wall outlet and just run them like an electric space heater.

How to produce enough heat for hot yoga with electric space heaters

If you want the comfort of running electric space heaters and the heating power of a propane heater, then I’d suggest running two electric space heaters simultaneously.

Just make sure your fuse doesn’t trip. If it does, your home’s electric circuit can’t handle the load.

Also, I’d suggest not running any other appliances aside from your space heaters in the same room you’re doing your hot yoga session.

Especially when you opt for infrared heaters, running two at a time is beneficial, since infrared heat always feels warmer on the side of your body facing the heater than on the opposite side.

Radiant heat feels the same as sitting in front of a campfire, where your face is glowing red and your back is still cold.

Running two infrared heaters in opposite corners of the room, both heaters facing towards the middle of the room compensates for this phenomenon and evenly distributes the heat across your body.

Principles for maximizing the temperature in your room

For hot yoga at home, two principles will help you squeeze the maximum temperature out of your heater:

• Use small rooms for hot yoga: The smaller your yoga space is, the less heat is needed to raise the temperature. Space size is equally important as the power of your heater. You can double the perceived heat output of your heater by choosing a yoga room half the size.
• Insulate your hot yoga room: Roll up a rug, towel, or a blanket and put it in front of the air gap below your door. This reduces the heat that leaves the room and, therefore, increases the amount of heat inside your room.

Conclusion

Propane heaters are the best heaters for hot yoga. However, they require propane refills twice a year. Electric space heaters don’t require refills and output less heat.

So, you can run two space heaters simultaneously.

If you are still not sure about the right heater, don’t get a space heater just based off the maximum temperature in the specs. Usually, that’s the temperature of the heating coil:

“The high of 120F refers to the heat of the heating coil itself, not the ambient air temperature at which the unit shuts off, which is 85F.”

member of Hot Yoga Doctor forum

Both options have their advantages and disadvantages. I hope I could help you find out what’s best for heating your hot yoga room!