We reviewed the Italian designed Caldostile D ceramic fan heater from Olimpia Splendid, and were impressed with how powerful it is given its small size. Less than 35cm tall and 24cm wide, the Caldostile D can easily be packed away when it’s not in use.
Despite being compact, the 2,000W Caldostile D is a deceptively effective heater. If you’re used to having a column heater, you’ll find this ceramic fan heater much faster at warming a room. Rather than waiting for a column heater to slowly get going, the Caldostile D delivers warmth instantly.
If you’re unfamiliar with this ceramic heaters, they work by using electricity to warm a ceramic plate, which then radiates heat. The addition of a fan circulates this warmed air around the room. The Caldostile D can also oscillate if you wish, further circulating heat.
In addition to being more effective, ceramic heaters are generally safer too. The Caldostile D has a number of important safety features. For example, it has a tip-over switch, which automatically turns the device off when it is tipped over. It is also fitted with an overload cut-out device to prevent overheating.
Another bonus of the Caldostile D is the air filter, which filters out dust as it operates. The dust filter is removable and easy to clean.
In normal mode, the temperature can be adjusted between 16°C and 32°C (by variations of 1°C). There are also two settings for the power of the fan – while the higher fan setting increases the reach of the heater, it’s also a tad noisier.
In eco mode, the maximum fan force will be used until the room temperature is 1°C below the set temperature (in eco mode this may range 16-26°C), and then it will activate minimum power heating.
If you’re in a cooler climate, there is also a frost-protection mode, where the appliance runs on minimum power to maintain a constant temperature of 7°C.
Users can also set either switch-on or switch-off timer settings. The delay can be set up to 24 hours beforehand (by increments of half an hour).
In hotter months, the Caldostile D can be used as a fan, though it does not have cool air conditioning functionality. Nevertheless, it works well as a traditional fan.
This heater comes with a remote control (button batteries), which offers all the same controls that are on the actual device.
The Caldostile D (RRP: $159) is currently available at The Good Guys, Bing Lee, Bi-Rite and BSR.
