Dr. Infrared Heater DR-978 Dual Heating Hybrid Review

The DR-968 above is the cabinet-class infrared heater; the DR-978 is Dr. Infrared's answer for anyone who doesn't have room for a cabinet. It shrinks the same idea — a quartz infrared element paired with a PTC ceramic heater and a blower — into a roughly 12-inch cube that sits comfortably on a desk or nightstand instead of claiming floor space in the corner of a living room. You still get direct radiant warmth on your skin plus fan-circulated heat for the rest of the room, just from a unit a third the size and weight of its bigger sibling.

Controls carry over from the DR-968 in miniature: an electronic thermostat from 50–86°F, Eco/High/Low modes, a 12-hour timer, and a remote, running the same basic playbook that's made the brand's cabinet heaters a mainstay of this guide. The blower is rated around 45 dB, audible in a quiet room — noticeably more than the 39 dB DR-968 — a reasonable trade for a heater this much smaller. Safety coverage matches the larger unit: tip-over switch, overheat shutoff, and UL/cUL listing, with a housing that stays cool outside the front grille.

One thing worth knowing before buying: the sub-$70 price we first verified for this listing didn't hold. Amazon now prices it close to $103, matching Walmart almost exactly and landing well inside the $100–140 range Dr. Infrared's own site and Home Depot already listed. At that price it's still a sensible small-space heater, but it's no longer the clear budget alternative to the DR-968 it looked like at first — if you have the floor space, the larger cabinet is the better value per watt. It remains a legitimate second option from a trusted brand, and one worth knowing about now that our former budget infrared pick — the Lifesmart 6-Element — appears to be losing its Amazon listing (see the status note in this week's scan). Plug it straight into the wall, keep three feet of clearance, and let Eco mode hold a set temperature overnight.