Electric blankets

Overall score breakdown

Overall score is based on

Heat-up (70%)

Shows how quickly the blankets reached their peak temperature on their highest heat setting.

Ease of use (30%)

Assessed on the user-friendliness of the controls.

Ease of use score includes:

Controller comfort (40%): Assessed on the position of the controller connection for the blanket and the likelihood of it causing discomfort during sleep.

Controller use (30%): Assessed on the user-friendliness of the controls.

Fitting (20%): Assessed on both the initial fitting and whether the blanket stayed in place.

Cleaning (5%): Assessed on how easy the blanket was to clean and dry.

Ease of washing (5%): Assessed on how easy the controllers are to attach and remove for washing.

Running costs are calculated from the energy consumption of the blanket during warmup, then running it for 8 hours per night over the 3 months of winter on its “All-night” setting. If there is no “All-night” setting then only the warmup consumption is taken into account.

Our test

We measure how long each blanket takes to reach 40°C, then record the final temperature each blanket reaches, which ranged from 41°C to 58°C. Our ease-of-use assessment looks at the ease of using controls, how easy the blankets are to clean, and the ease of fitting them on the bed.

Our safety assessment uses a custom rig to simulate 5000 cycles of the blanket’s cord flexing under a 1kg weight. Then we look for any damage to the cord or controller, before checking their internal electrical safety. We also conduct an anchorage test, which involves yanking the cord 25 times with a force equivalent to 10kg, and applying a rotational force for one minute. We then check again for any internal or external damage.