AUOKAI 1000W Electric Fan Heater Review
“The AUOKAI 1000W electric fan heater is a super cheap way of heating a small space using a suitable solar generator. It’s compact and it looks nice, if a little loud.”
Rating: 4 / 5
Pros
Puts out a decent amount of heat, even on the low setting
On low it pairs nicely with a 1000W solar generator
Excellent value for money
Super cheap to buy
Cons
1000W power rating hides a large initial spike in watts as the element heats up
Tip-over protection switch works better on hard floors than carpet
Lacks a thermostat to select ideal temperature
Quite noisy
What Is The AUOKAI 1000W Electric Fan Heater?
A high speed fan at the back of the unit draws in air, which passes over a PTC ceramic heating element before leaving the unit through an angle adjustable grate.
Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) heating elements are made from advanced ceramic materials, allowing safe and powerful heating in a small space.
There is one simple switch on the rear for off, setting one or setting two and no remote or display to worry about. The design is as simple and robust as possible.
Under the unit is a little tip-over protection pressure switch which pushes against the floor. If the unit tips in any direction this acts as a safety cut off and turns the unit off.
It works perfectly on hard floors but may struggle on deeper carpets where the heater would need something solid to stand on.
At the front is an adjustable grate with a lever on the right. It can be used to angle the airflow up a bit or down a bit and the lever remains cool to the touch even when the heater is on.
Specs
Width: 28 cm (11”)
Height: 12 cm (4.7”)
Depth: 12 cm (4.7”)
Weight: 970 g (2.1 lbs)
Power Rating: 1000W
How Much Does The AUOKAI 1000W Electric Fan Heater Cost?
The RRP of the AUOKAI 1000W Electric Fan Heater is £16 ($20). Check the current price on Amazon.
Is The AUOKAI 1000W Electric Fan Heater Any Good?
Yes. It heats up a space quickly and is amazing value for the super cheap price.
There is a slight smell on first use, but this is usual for most fan heaters and it doesn’t take long to disappear.
The heater is noticeably noisy when running, especially if it is only a metre away. At half a room away the noise is easy to cope with and all fan heaters are noisy to an extent, even an expensive Dyson.
Verdict: For the price it is an excellent option to pair with an 1800W solar generator for backup room heating.
Which Solar Generators Does The AUOKAI 1000W Electric Fan Heater Work With?
The fan heater’s rated power is described as 1000W so we hooked it up to the Bluetti AC180 1800W 1152Wh solar generator to see what it was actually drawing on start-up and when up to temperature on the low and high settings.
Low Setting
The low setting is honestly enough to quickly heat up a room or a person sitting a metre or so away. We would use this over the high setting.
It peaked at 960W for the first few seconds, as the element heated up and then settled at a constant rate of 590W.
That’s a shade under two hours of fan heating with this particular solar generator.
A 600W generator with a power boost function should be fine with the low setting.
High Setting
The high setting peaked at 1750W for the first few seconds and then settled at a constant rate of 920W.
That’s around one hour of fan heating with this particular solar generator.
This fan heater would happily work with a cheaper 1800W solar generator, even without a power lifting function.
Are There Other Option To Heat Using A Solar Generator?
Yes, rather than using high energy directed heat, you can look at low energy passive heating.
Something like a small oil filled 500W radiator is quite capable of heating a small room or microclimate, while using half the power of a fan heater.
It takes a bit longer to put out the heat but it can be a much more efficient use of limited power.