IT'S the beginning of October and autumn is here, meaning the return of spiced pumpkin lattes, hearty Sunday roasts and oversized jumpers.

However, it also means gloomy dark mornings and plummeting temperatures – which is a particular problem when heating is just so expensive.

Thankfully, there are ways to keep yourself cosy and warm without spending a bomb, and increasingly we're all trying new and intuitive ways to heat ourselves, rather than our home.

From fleecy throws and ponchos for 'chilling' on the sofa to blankets for your bed, here we put a range of the best electric heating gadgets out there to the test…

Dunelm

PRICE: £22 single / £30 double / King size £34

I never thought I could get genuinely excited about electric blankets, but after this, I am a true convert.

Dunelm shoppers have been rushing out to nab a highly sought after electric blanket – which is one of the biggest bargains on the market at the moment.

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Costing just 1p an hour to run, the product – which is available at £22 for a single, £30 for a double and a king size for £34 – gets a staggering 4.7 star rating out of five online.

Vonhaus heated throw blanket

PRICE: £39.99 (reduced from £59.99)

Chic and practical, this grey heated blanket is an absolute game-changer, and a bargain given how much you'll save not putting the heating on.

Designed for cosy nights on the sofa, it gets a 4.8 star rating out of five on their website, and it's not hard to see why.

It's also available in pink, looks stylish, and on a practical note you can also detach it from the plug and pop it in the washing machine (up to 30 degrees) too.

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It boasts nine heat settings, and an automatic shut-off function that prevents overheating.

The Range Divante Electric Under Blanket

PRICE: Single £24.99 / Double £29.99 / King £34.99

What you see is what you get with this blanket – there's no airs and graces, but it does exactly what you want it to do and is extremely effective.

It's a bargain at just under £30 for a double – perfect to keep you and your partner warm and cosy when the nights start to get colder.

It features three heat settings and a detachable power connector, and the controller is incredibly simple to use.

I just popped it on half an hour before I went to sleep and the bed was the perfect temperature when I got in.

This electric blanket also has a soft cover, and is machine washable.

Snugel fleece blanket

PRICE: £67

This extra thick Snugel heated blanket is ideal for those wanting a luxuriously soft and plush throw – and my cat loved this one in particular.

And it is so, so, so soft – it's literally like being hugged by a cloud.

The blanket is machine washable, and features six fully adjustable temperature settings giving you complete heating flexibility, controlled by the simple and easy-to-use remote control.

There's also a built-in eight-hour timer so it doesn't matter if you fall asleep, which you inevitably will once snuggled up under this blanket!

It's quite heavy, but you can always turn the heat down if it gets too much.

Lakeland heated poncho

PRICE: £89.99

I loved the idea of this, and in reality, a heated poncho is everything you'd imagine and more!

The soft flannel material makes it very comfortable, and I feel this would be ideal for sitting at a desk and working from home.

There are poppers to keep it in place, and it's also machine washable and has nine heating settings.

There are a few downsides, however.

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You can't walk around wearing it obviously, given the fact it needs to be plugged in, so I'm not sure why you necessarily need it in poncho form, and it doesn't keep your legs or feet warm so you might prefer a throw for nights on the sofa.

It's also more expensive, although still far more cost-effective than turning the heating on.

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