Melbourne has delivered a very convincing reminder that winter is here in full force this week. With thanks to Kogan, I have their Portable Ceramic Heater on the deck to help.
The Kogan Portable Ceramic Heater is a compact little beast, but don’t let its small size fool you.
Kogan Portable Ceramic Heater Performance and Features
Controls are all clustered at the top of the unit – except for the main on/off button which is down the back near where the power cord goes into the unit.
The operation is simple, the Portable Ceramic Heater has three modes:
- fan only (three blue lights)
- warm (one red light)
- hot (three red lights)
You cycle through them with the mode button.
The swing button gives you approximately 70 degrees of horizontal range. There is no vertical oscillation here.
When you first turn on the fan, the LED will show the ambient temperature. You can then set the temperature you want via the + and – buttons.
You can crank it up as high as 37° C and as low as 16° C.
In the mornings, I put it on before getting my daughter up for school. It takes the edge off the morning chill within a few minutes and is exactly the sort of environment where this heater makes the most sense – a smaller space where you want warmth quickly without having to heat an entire house.
For a compact unit, it does a pretty good job at turning money (electricity) into warmth. Heaters are fundamentally simple devices: they use electricity and convert it into heat. This particular unit is rated at 1200W, so while it won’t compete with larger 2000W room heaters, it’s quite capable for a small room or personal space. The wattage ultimately limits how much heat it can put into the room.
There is a safety switch in the base. If the heater is knocked over or tipped, it will turn the heater off. Setting it back upright will not automatically resume operation. You have to press the buttons to turn it back on.
Best Uses for the Kogan Portable Ceramic Heater
With the price of utilities continuing to rise, and gas heating becoming increasingly expensive to run, it pays to think laterally about how you heat your home.
Many homes still rely on gas heating, while others aren’t in a position to install reverse-cycle air conditioning. Sometimes heating the entire house is simply wasteful. The Kogan Portable Ceramic Heater is an inexpensive way to target the areas where you actually need warmth.
If you’re with an electricity provider that offers a free electricity window during the day, portable heaters can be surprisingly useful. I’ve found them particularly handy in the laundry, helping clothes dry faster when it’s cold and wet outside when I don’t have access to a dryer. One pro tip though: crack a window open while you’re doing this. Otherwise all that moisture has nowhere to go and the room will turn into a sauna.
The combination of concentrated heat and a 70-degree oscillation range works quite well in a clothes drying rack. Just remember not to place the heater too close to clothing and create a fire hazard.
With an RRP of A$32.99 (A$34.99 for non-members), the Kogan Portable Ceramic Heater is an affordable way to ward off the cold one small area at a time.
DRN would like to thank Kogan for providing the review unit.
