Slumberland Easy Fit Heated Mattress Cover - Kingsize

Product Information

After all, is there anything cosier than taking the chill off those cold sheets before you get under the duvet at night? And do you really need to turn on the central heating when you can get toasty with a heated blanket on the sofa instead? Plus, with the cost of running an electric blanket on full power coming in at well under 5p per hour, an electric blanket could well be a sound financial investment that will help you to save money whilst staying warm.

What’s more, the generous padding and 180-thread cotton count cover give you a luxury feel even when the heating’s off. Put it all together and you’ve got a terrific topper for the cold months, but one you might want to keep in place the whole all year round. The size is perfect to cover a single person on the sofa, or for wrapping around you while you work from home and are trying to save on your heating bill, although we would like to see a larger version that fits two on the couch. Costing just pennies to run, it's a great solution for keeping out the chill whilst keeping heating costs low. The price you pay to run an electric blanket will depend on its wattage and your usage. A heated blanket can either be kept on all night on a low setting, used for a short amount of time before you get into bed or you fall asleep, or set to turn off at a specific time if it comes with an auto shut-off timer.This simple electric blanket from Silentnight doesn’t have all the bells and whistles which you get with some. It won’t impress your dinner party friends or give your life a renewed sense of purpose. For the sake of this example, we’ll use an approximate power of 100W. This means that running an electric blanket for one hour would cost just 3p in July 2023. We've listed the wattage of each of the electric blankets in this guide in the specifications, with most averaging around 70 watts at full temperature. If you run your electric blanket at a lower temperature than the maximum setting available then you'll use fewer watts. Two of our top five electric blankets use cotton rather than polyester (Dreamland Boutique and Dreamland Organic Cotton). That might be the clincher for you, as cotton is naturally more breathable than polyester. Of course, we associate breathability with keeping cool which is not a priority with an electric blanket. However, breathability also helps to regulate your temperature rather than just making you feel colder. A study called ‘Sleep and the temperature field of the bed’by Bischof, Madsen et alfound that ‘larger fluctuations of temperature in the bed are connected to a shorter deep-sleep time.’In other words, if you feel hot and then cold during the night, then you won’t sleep as well.

You can tailor the warmth levels further thanks to dual controls on the double, king, and super king blanket sizes. These allow the temperature of the respective sides of the bed to be adjusted independently of each other –a real boon for couples with different heat preferences! And, this is one of the few electric blankets on the market that also enables you to independently control the temperature of the body and feet zones of the blanket, so if you suffer from cold feet you can just switch on the lower portion of the blanket, or increase the heat setting in this area alone –genius!The Slumberland electric blanket is another simple to use model from a brand that you’ve actually heard of.

The downsides with this one are that it is polyester rather than cotton which is a bit more breathable (the Dreamland electric blankets mentioned earlier are cotton – see #2 and #3). It’s also a bit slower to heat up than theDreamland electric blankets(15 minutes compared to 5 minutes). Although often harder to find, an overblanket is the ideal solution if you have an adjustable bed where an underblanket's wires could get compressed, a heat-sensitive memory foam mattress that's designed to react to your body temperature and mould to your body shape – the electric blanket's extra heat will confuse things here – or you struggle to do the heavy lifting that strapping an under blanket on to your mattress can require. Blankets come in two basic types: heated mattress covers or pads that sit on top of the mattress but beneath the sheets, warming you and the duvet from below. Meanwhile, an overblanket slips inside your duvet cover to keep you cosy from above – some versions replace your duvet entirely. Adding an electric blanket between your body and the mattress top will prevent the memory foam from being able to mould around your body, so it can impact how comfortable you find your mattress.Quilting or padding–basic electric blankets are formed from two thin polyester layers with electrical wires secured in the middle which can mean you'll feel the wires as you sleep. Look out for options that have quilted or padded upper layers for optimal comfort. The good news is that electric blankets have come a long way in recent years, with new smart tech options, dual-controlled double electric blankets that cater to partners who like to slowly roast paired with those who prefer to keep things cool, and under or over blankets that allow you to get the heat exactly where you want it.

It’s also got fancy features such as an auto switch off after a certain number of hours and five different temperatures to choose from. There’s a super-fast five minute warm up setting too, so it should be ready by the time you’ve brushed your teeth and flossed.The main downsides with this one are that it’s slow to heat up (15 minutes) and that it is made from polyester rather than breathable cotton. It’s also much more expensive than the Silentnight electric blanket without offering the fancy features of the similarly pricedSlumberdown Perfectly Warm electric blanket(see #4).