There’s something miserable about crawling into an unwarmed bed on a cold winter’s night. And it’s no fun sleeping in a room where the temperature nosedives overnight. An electric blanket can warm your bed before you get in, or help you maintain a steady temperature right through to the moment the alarm goes off.
Electric blankets used to have a reputation for being thick and uncomfortable, but modern versions are thinner and lighter – not to mention safer and a whole lot more efficient, so they’re fine for everyday use. All the same, you’ll want to choose carefully to make sure you get a reliable bedwarmer.
How to buy the right electric blanket for you
How much do I need to spend?
An electric blanket is a cheap way to stay warm at night. Obviously, larger blankets cost more, but you can buy a decent king-size blanket from a major brand for under £30; even the more feature-packed options come in for under £100. Running costs are usually between 1p and 4p per night.
What different kinds of electric blanket are there?
Blankets come in two basic types. Heated mattress covers or pads sit on top of the mattress but beneath the sheets, warming you and the duvet from below. An overblanket slips inside your duvet cover to keep you cosy from above – some versions replace your duvet entirely. Which you choose is largely a matter of personal preference, but manufacturers of memory foam mattresses often advise against heated pads, because they restrict the mattress’ ability to mould to your body, and there’s a risk of the foam itself getting damaged in the long term.
What differences are there?
All electric blankets warm your bed, but they differ in how long they take to heat up, and how much control you have over the temperature. Some take under five minutes to warm up, while others take substantially longer. That’s not necessarily a problem if your blanket has a timer and you’re regular in your bedtimes, but it’s worth thinking about.
All blankets have a range of heat settings, but the number might vary from three to twelve. More advanced blankets might even have different settings for different zones, so you can have additional heat for your feet or have different heat levels for the two sides of a double bed.
What other things should I look out for?
Beyond that, think about materials – do you want a flat underblanket or something fleecy that holds the warmth? And then there’s practicalities like the length of cable and the positioning of the controls. These are usually simple plastic modules attached by a cable to the side of the blanket, but some are removable to make it easier to wash or clean the blanket. Being machine-washable is clearly a good thing; not all blankets can be tumble dried.
Finally, it’s always worth double-checking the safety features. A BEAB Approved badge is a must, showing that the blanket has had appropriate testing, and you should also look for features like an overheating safety cut-out or an automatic shutdown, so that you can’t leave your blanket on all day by accident.
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The best electric blanket to buy
1. Silentnight Comfort Control Electric Blanket: The best low-cost electric blanket
Price:£18 to £30
If all you need is a basic mattress-cover blanket, it’s hard to go wrong with the Silentnight Comfort Control. It’s a flexible, barely noticeable slimline cover with a concealed heating element that warms up in around ten minutes. It has three heat settings, plus an all-night setting with over-heat protection. The blanket straps to the mattress securely through corner ties, and is machine washable at 40 degrees. It’s not the longest blanket, so it might not keep your tootsies warm, but otherwiseit’s great. If you don’t want extras like specially heated zones or dual controls, why pay more?
Key specs – Type: Polyester mattress cover blanket; Heat settings: 3; Controls: Single; Off Timer: No; Dual settings: No; Safety: Over-heat protection; Machine washable: Yes; Dimensions: 65 x 135cm (Single), 120 x 135cm (Double), 137 x 65cm (King)
2. Dreamland Intelliheat Premium Soft Fleece: The best electric blanket for fast heat
Price:£45 to £80 – Buy now from John Lewis
This fleece underblanket has a fast five-minute pre-heat button that does exactly what you might expect; then you can set an all-night level from one to five, with Dreamland’s Intelliheat technology maintaining a constant temperature through the night. There’s even extra warmth for your feet at the bottom of the blanket. Dual controls are optional on the double and included on the king-sized blanket, and you can set an auto-shut-off timer for one to nine hours. It’s held to the bed by easily-fastened straps, and will go happily in the washing machine and tumble dryer for easy cleaning.
Key specs – Type: Fleece polyester mattress cover blanket; Heat settings: 5; Controls: Single/dual; Off Timer: Yes; Dual settings: Optional on double, Yes on King; Safety: Sleep guardian technology; Dimensions: 80 x 150cm (Single), 120 x 150cm (Double), 160 x 150cm (King)
3. Monogram Komfort: The best heated non-fleece mattress cover
Price:£40 to £86
Not everyone likes the feel of fleece; this German-made electric mattress cover gives you the same softness and comfort without the fluff. It’s a fully-fitted cover with its own elasticated skirt, with dual settings and controls optional on the double version, and standard on the king- and superking-sized vesions. It heats up within eight minutes on its pre-heat setting, then dishes out consistent head-to-toe warmth at one of five heat settings overnight. It even has a little extra warmth to keep your toes from getting chilly. It’s washable and tumble-dryer-friendly, with detachable controllers for easy cleaning. Throw in overheat protection and an auto shut-off timer – which can be set to kick in after one, three, six or twelve hours – and you have one of the best electric blankets around.
Monogram Komfort Fully Fitted Fleecy Heated Blanket/Mattress Cover - Double Dual Control 190 x 137cm
Key specs – Type: Soft polyester heated mattress cover; Heat settings: 5; Controls: Single/dual; Off timer: Yes; Dual settings: Yes; Safety: Auto heat shut-off; Dimensions: 90 x 190cm (Single), 137 x 190cm (Double), 150 x 200cm (King), 180 x 200cm (Superking)
4. Dreamland Intelliheat Harmony: The best heated overblanket
Price:£60 to £80
The Harmony in the name alludes to the dual settings and controls, which should eliminate arguments: each sleeper can set their own temperature, or even turn the blanket off. Intelliheat technology keeps the temperature consistent, while a fast pre-heat gets the bed up to a comfortable level in under five minutes. You can also set a timer to warm up the bed, and cool down automatically after up to nine hours of use. The blanket itself is so soft and light that you could actually use it outside the duvet cover, and a range of safety features keep you safe from accidental spillages or overheating. It’s a great premium option, especially if you have a memory-foam mattress and can’t use a heated mattress cover.
Key specs – Type: Polyester heated underblanket; Heat settings: 5; Controls: Single/dual; Off timer: Yes; Dual settings: Yes; Safety: Sleep Guardian technology; Dimensions: 135 x 180cm (Single), 180 x 180cm (Double), 215 x 225cm (King)
5. Sleepwell Intelliheat Duvet: The best heated duvet
Price:£80 to £120 – Buy from Argos now
An electric blanket under a duvet doesn’t always feel quite right; this one fixes the problem by building the heating elements directly into a 6.5 tog duvet itself, which effectively becomes a 15 tog duvet when heated. Like its Dreamland stablemates, it has a five-minute pre-heat function, plus an Intelliheat feature that keeps the temperature consistent overnight. It’s hard to feel the wires within the polyester filling of the duvet, and it’s still machine-washable and tumble-dryer ready. Both the Double and King-sized versions come with dual settings and detachable dual controls, which feed in through the bottom to make them accessible outside your duvet cover. It’s a great way to get winter-duvet warmth without the weight.
Key specs – Type: Cotton microfibre heated duvet; Heat settings: 5; Controls: Single/dual; Off timer: Yes; Dual settings: Yes; Safety: Sleep Guardian technology; Dimensions: 135 x 200cm (Single), 200 x 200cm (Double), 220 x 225cm (King)