Does anyone use an Infrared heater

[two sheds]

I did order some usb heated gloves this winter but only really because (I think) a tendon is a bit painful and I thought a bit of heat might help. They never arrived though

 

[pogofish]

how long does oil-filled radiator take to warm up?

About twenty minutes to make a noticeable difference in my bedroom. The only room where it is the sole method of heating. That's a 900W unit but it rarely gets run above about one third.

A bit longer in the living room/hall but I only rarely use the living room one, mainly in the very depths of winter to support the gas fire and the hall ones are really just kept for background heating in winter

 

[Leafster]

The more I think about it, the more this is something that I really want. My partner is keen as well which unusual for new tech in the house. Quite expensive to do the whole house, so will have to wait a bit. Maybe I'll get something more budget then an infrared heater in the meantime to tide me over.

Maybe this is worth a separate thread, but I'm curious about your setup. You say it's on a server? What advantage does this have over say using the Hive setup?

Happy to contribute to a separate thread if you wanted to set one up. When I started down the smart home route I don't think Hive etc. did quite as much as they do now. I think the main difference between my system and Hive is that mine isn't reliant on the internet. I may be wrong but all the smart stuff with Hive is on their servers (?) whereas mine is controlled from within my house on the mini-server in my loft.

When I moved to my house about 8 years ago it needed a fair bit of electrical work doing to it. I have a good electrician that I've known for years so we had a long discussion about the way to handle the improvements. There were some immediate safety issues to resolve but also other stuff like not having enough light switches in the hall and kitchen and needing to be able to control the lighting in the front garden as my house is on a steep slope above the road so it needs lighting to be able to walk safely to the front door.

We could have gone down the traditional route of channelling out the walls inside and putting all the outside lighting on timers and motion or light sensors. The electrician suggested using a Loxone smart home system instead. This would avoid all the extra hassles of having to redecorate and would give greater control over everything and allow me to add functionality over time. So, initially, I didn't have the mini-server installed to run the heating but I knew it could be added when I needed it.

My current smart home set up controls the lighting, heating, ventilation and a few other odds and ends. I can control the system with an app on my phone, my tablet or any of my PCs. If I'm out and about, I can use the app to log into the mini-server too.

In terms of the heating, each room has a wireless room sensor which monitors the temperature (and humidity). Each radiator has a wireless valve actuator. I have the ability to programme each room independently. I can set up each day of the week separately for each room so they are scheduled differently for say week days and the weekends. Each radiator has 4 settings; off, frost protection, eco mode and comfort mode. I can change the temperatures for each of these settings. I can also override any of the settings (timing or temperature) at any time from the app. The mini-server learns how long it takes to heat each room and will turn on each radiator independently so that the required temperature is met at the required time. It monitors the ambient room temperature throughout the day and if it senses it's colder than normal in a particular room it will turn on that radiator earlier so it's still at the right temperature when it's needed. Conversely, if it's warmer, it'll delay turning on the radiator so it's not wasting energy. It also uses a weather service to fine-tune things. It's been suggested it should save about 25% of your energy costs over a non-smart system. I certainly used less energy this last winter than I did before I had the heating controls added but I don't think it was as much as 25% over the previous winter.

I mentioned the room sensors monitor humidity so the ones in the bathroom and kitchen are linked to extractors which come on automatically if the humidity is high. The bathroom one is also linked to the light so if someone is in there for longer than just a piss then the extractor fan comes on for a while so the room smells 'fresh' for the next occupant . With a Loxone system your light switches become multi-function so I can also switch the kitchen extractor fan on and off by pushing and holding the kitchen light switch. Again, I can override any of this from the app. I suspect the ability to add functionality to existing physical switches isn't something that's possible with Hive.

With the lighting, there are motion sensors in the hall and kitchen so these lights come on automatically when someone enters these rooms and go off when they leave. The motion sensors also detect the light levels so only switch on the lights when they are actually needed. The motion sensors also act as a security device so if I've told Loxone no-one is at home it will alert me to any movement in the house. Again, as the switches are multi-function I only need two light switches in the lounge-diner to control 4 lights. All the lights are controllable from the app so I can switch them on and off from anywhere. I've programmed it with a 'Welcome Home' button so as I walk or drive home, one touch brings on the outside lights, and selected ones inside. There's also an 'All Off' function for when you go to bed. Just press it from your phone last thing at night and any lights you've left on, switch off.

I also have lighting and a water feature in the back garden so I can switch all of these on and off independently from the app. It's also programmed to switch these all off at midnight if I forget.

Loxone also monitors the heat and smoke alarms. It sends me alerts to my phone if they go off. I think I can get it to flash all the lights if smoke or a fire is detected but I don't think I've set it up for that.

Looking at the cost, I think the initial installation of the mini-server, some wiring * and programming came to about £800 (8 years ago). All the sensors and actuators and installation was around another £800 (last year) so, overall, not that cheap. I could be saving around £200 per year in energy usage so perhaps I will recover the costs eventually.

* Effectively, all the wiring from inputs like light switches now run to the mini-server. This was done by pulling new low voltage (24v) cables through the existing conduits and then the actual switching (on the 240v system) is done by the mini-server. I think this is what enables the extra functionality of the light switches.

I can still add extra functionality now that I have the mini-server but for now I have all that I need. Check out their website for other possibilities Smart Home

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Happy to contribute to a separate thread if you wanted to set one up. When I started down the smart home route I don't think Hive etc. did quite as much as they do now. I think the main difference between my system and Hive is that mine isn't reliant on the internet. I may be wrong but all the smart stuff with Hive is on their servers (?) whereas mine is controlled from within my house on the mini-server in my loft.

When I moved to my house about 8 years ago it needed a fair bit of electrical work doing to it. I have a good electrician that I've known for years so we had a long discussion about the way to handle the improvements. There were some immediate safety issues to resolve but also other stuff like not having enough light switches in the hall and kitchen and needing to be able to control the lighting in the front garden as my house is on a steep slope above the road so it needs lighting to be able to walk safely to the front door.

We could have gone down the traditional route of channelling out the walls inside and putting all the outside lighting on timers and motion or light sensors. The electrician suggested using a Loxone smart home system instead. This would avoid all the extra hassles of having to redecorate and would give greater control over everything and allow me to add functionality over time. So, initially, I didn't have the mini-server installed to run the heating but I knew it could be added when I needed it.

My current smart home set up controls the lighting, heating, ventilation and a few other odds and ends. I can control the system with an app on my phone, my tablet or any of my PCs. If I'm out and about, I can use the app to log into the mini-server too.

In terms of the heating, each room has a wireless room sensor which monitors the temperature (and humidity). Each radiator has a wireless valve actuator. I have the ability to programme each room independently. I can set up each day of the week separately for each room so they are scheduled differently for say week days and the weekends. Each radiator has 4 settings; off, frost protection, eco mode and comfort mode. I can change the temperatures for each of these settings. I can also override any of the settings (timing or temperature) at any time from the app. The mini-server learns how long it takes to heat each room and will turn on each radiator independently so that the required temperature is met at the required time. It monitors the ambient room temperature throughout the day and if it senses it's colder than normal in a particular room it will turn on that radiator earlier so it's still at the right temperature when it's needed. Conversely, if it's warmer, it'll delay turning on the radiator so it's not wasting energy. It also uses a weather service to fine-tune things. It's been suggested it should save about 25% of your energy costs over a non-smart system. I certainly used less energy this last winter than I did before I had the heating controls added but I don't think it was as much as 25% over the previous winter.

I mentioned the room sensors monitor humidity so the ones in the bathroom and kitchen are linked to extractors which come on automatically if the humidity is high. The bathroom one is also linked to the light so if someone is in there for longer than just a piss then the extractor fan comes on for a while so the room smells 'fresh' for the next occupant . With a Loxone system your light switches become multi-function so I can also switch the kitchen extractor fan on and off by pushing and holding the kitchen light switch. Again, I can override any of this from the app. I suspect the ability to add functionality to existing physical switches isn't something that's possible with Hive.

With the lighting, there are motion sensors in the hall and kitchen so these lights come on automatically when someone enters these rooms and go off when they leave. The motion sensors also detect the light levels so only switch on the lights when they are actually needed. The motion sensors also act as a security device so if I've told Loxone no-one is at home it will alert me to any movement in the house. Again, as the switches are multi-function I only need two light switches in the lounge-diner to control 4 lights. All the lights are controllable from the app so I can switch them on and off from anywhere. I've programmed it with a 'Welcome Home' button so as I walk or drive home, one touch brings on the outside lights, and selected ones inside. There's also an 'All Off' function for when you go to bed. Just press it from your phone last thing at night and any lights you've left on, switch off.

I also have lighting and a water feature in the back garden so I can switch all of these on and off independently from the app. It's also programmed to switch these all off at midnight if I forget.

Loxone also monitors the heat and smoke alarms. It sends me alerts to my phone if they go off. I think I can get it to flash all the lights if smoke or a fire is detected but I don't think I've set it up for that.

Looking at the cost, I think the initial installation of the mini-server, some wiring * and programming came to about £800 (8 years ago). All the sensors and actuators and installation was around another £800 (last year) so, overall, not that cheap. I could be saving around £200 per year in energy usage so perhaps I will recover the costs eventually.

* Effectively, all the wiring from inputs like light switches now run to the mini-server. This was done by pulling new low voltage (24v) cables through the existing conduits and then the actual switching (on the 240v system) is done by the mini-server. I think this is what enables the extra functionality of the light switches.

I can still add extra functionality now that I have the mini-server but for now I have all that I need. Check out their website for other possibilities Smart Home

Thank you. Yes I think this deserves it own thread when I've got a keyboard in front of me. It's very cool though

 

[teuchter]

Happy to contribute to a separate thread if you wanted to set one up. When I started down the smart home route I don't think Hive etc. did quite as much as they do now. I think the main difference between my system and Hive is that mine isn't reliant on the internet. I may be wrong but all the smart stuff with Hive is on their servers (?) whereas mine is controlled from within my house on the mini-server in my loft.

When I moved to my house about 8 years ago it needed a fair bit of electrical work doing to it. I have a good electrician that I've known for years so we had a long discussion about the way to handle the improvements. There were some immediate safety issues to resolve but also other stuff like not having enough light switches in the hall and kitchen and needing to be able to control the lighting in the front garden as my house is on a steep slope above the road so it needs lighting to be able to walk safely to the front door.

We could have gone down the traditional route of channelling out the walls inside and putting all the outside lighting on timers and motion or light sensors. The electrician suggested using a Loxone smart home system instead. This would avoid all the extra hassles of having to redecorate and would give greater control over everything and allow me to add functionality over time. So, initially, I didn't have the mini-server installed to run the heating but I knew it could be added when I needed it.

My current smart home set up controls the lighting, heating, ventilation and a few other odds and ends. I can control the system with an app on my phone, my tablet or any of my PCs. If I'm out and about, I can use the app to log into the mini-server too.

In terms of the heating, each room has a wireless room sensor which monitors the temperature (and humidity). Each radiator has a wireless valve actuator. I have the ability to programme each room independently. I can set up each day of the week separately for each room so they are scheduled differently for say week days and the weekends. Each radiator has 4 settings; off, frost protection, eco mode and comfort mode. I can change the temperatures for each of these settings. I can also override any of the settings (timing or temperature) at any time from the app. The mini-server learns how long it takes to heat each room and will turn on each radiator independently so that the required temperature is met at the required time. It monitors the ambient room temperature throughout the day and if it senses it's colder than normal in a particular room it will turn on that radiator earlier so it's still at the right temperature when it's needed. Conversely, if it's warmer, it'll delay turning on the radiator so it's not wasting energy. It also uses a weather service to fine-tune things. It's been suggested it should save about 25% of your energy costs over a non-smart system. I certainly used less energy this last winter than I did before I had the heating controls added but I don't think it was as much as 25% over the previous winter.

I mentioned the room sensors monitor humidity so the ones in the bathroom and kitchen are linked to extractors which come on automatically if the humidity is high. The bathroom one is also linked to the light so if someone is in there for longer than just a piss then the extractor fan comes on for a while so the room smells 'fresh' for the next occupant . With a Loxone system your light switches become multi-function so I can also switch the kitchen extractor fan on and off by pushing and holding the kitchen light switch. Again, I can override any of this from the app. I suspect the ability to add functionality to existing physical switches isn't something that's possible with Hive.

With the lighting, there are motion sensors in the hall and kitchen so these lights come on automatically when someone enters these rooms and go off when they leave. The motion sensors also detect the light levels so only switch on the lights when they are actually needed. The motion sensors also act as a security device so if I've told Loxone no-one is at home it will alert me to any movement in the house. Again, as the switches are multi-function I only need two light switches in the lounge-diner to control 4 lights. All the lights are controllable from the app so I can switch them on and off from anywhere. I've programmed it with a 'Welcome Home' button so as I walk or drive home, one touch brings on the outside lights, and selected ones inside. There's also an 'All Off' function for when you go to bed. Just press it from your phone last thing at night and any lights you've left on, switch off.

I also have lighting and a water feature in the back garden so I can switch all of these on and off independently from the app. It's also programmed to switch these all off at midnight if I forget.

Loxone also monitors the heat and smoke alarms. It sends me alerts to my phone if they go off. I think I can get it to flash all the lights if smoke or a fire is detected but I don't think I've set it up for that.

Looking at the cost, I think the initial installation of the mini-server, some wiring * and programming came to about £800 (8 years ago). All the sensors and actuators and installation was around another £800 (last year) so, overall, not that cheap. I could be saving around £200 per year in energy usage so perhaps I will recover the costs eventually.

* Effectively, all the wiring from inputs like light switches now run to the mini-server. This was done by pulling new low voltage (24v) cables through the existing conduits and then the actual switching (on the 240v system) is done by the mini-server. I think this is what enables the extra functionality of the light switches.

I can still add extra functionality now that I have the mini-server but for now I have all that I need. Check out their website for other possibilities Smart Home

The thing that always bothers me about smart home stuff is that you seem to have to buy into some kind of proprietary system. Which you are then trapped in, when you want to add or change stuff, and maybe some other system has appeared that's more affordable or more useful. And what about in 20 years when the company has disappeared and it's not possible to source a replacement light switch?

I have a feeling when I last looked into this, there was maybe some kind of idea of an open standards type thing but it was very limited. Things may have changed since.

The closest I've got to anything "smart" is a kind off cobbled together lighting system based on DMX controls. That doesn't tie me to any particular manufacturer for components.

And I have a quite simple zoned heating system from Honeywell. A control panel and box and TRVs which talk together wirelessly.

But it would make me nervous to have all my eggs in the same basket for everything...as attractive as it is for different bits of systems to be talking to each other.

 

[Leafster]

The thing that always bothers me about smart home stuff is that you seem to have to buy into some kind of proprietary system. Which you are then trapped in, when you want to add or change stuff, and maybe some other system has appeared that's more affordable or more useful. And what about in 20 years when the company has disappeared and it's not possible to source a replacement light switch?

I have a feeling when I last looked into this, there was maybe some kind of idea of an open standards type thing but it was very limited. Things may have changed since.

The closest I've got to anything "smart" is a kind off cobbled together lighting system based on DMX controls. That doesn't tie me to any particular manufacturer for components.

And I have a quite simple zoned heating system from Honeywell. A control panel and box and TRVs which talk together wirelessly.

But it would make me nervous to have all my eggs in the same basket for everything...as attractive as it is for different bits of systems to be talking to each other.

I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive having such a major change to the house. I don't think I'd have considered it if I hadn't needed to upgrade so much of the electrics in one go.

There is a degree of compatibility with Loxone and other smart home equipment but it could be a lot better. I can't remember all the details but there are various communication protocols and some are fairly standard, others less so. So, for instance, the light switches you mentioned are bog standard retractive switches. Similarly, the smoke alarms, heat sensors and motion sensors are generic ones which all work seamlessly with Loxone. They were chosen for their quality, aesthetics and price over the equivalent Loxone products. However, when it came to some of the other sensors we had problems. I have a Netatmo Weather Station which could have provided data to feed into Loxone to assist with the heating management but they don't talk the same language. Similarly, we investigated using Shelly sensors to report the conditions in each of the rooms as they are considerably cheaper but they aren't compatible either.

There are ways around this and you can use something like a Raspberry Pi as a communications bridge and I did investigate this. You can load software called Loxberry onto a Pi and it gives more flexibility in what could be connected. I tried this out and managed to get the data from the Netatmo weather station and from some trial Shelly sensors to report to the Pi and I also got the Pi connected to the Loxone mini-server but, at that point, I realised there was a limit to my tech nerdiness and I didn't want to spend my spare time tinkering with it when something didn't quite work or I wanted to add something else. I know I'm reliant on the continued existence of Loxone and the assistance of my electrician but the set up is fairly resilient and requires very little maintenance.

There are definitely open source systems out there like Home Assistant or OpenHAB but again they require a level of committed tech nerdiness that I didn't think I could sustain.

I also think there's a degree of convergence between the proprietary systems as people opt for "best of breed" products rather than having everything from one company. Loxone produce an audio server but I wouldn't ever consider adding this as I'm happy with my Sonos system.

The growth of Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Apple SmartHome mean there are also people coming to smart homes from a different eco-system and I think the likes of Loxone and KNX (and others) will have to do something to stay in the game.

 

[gentlegreen]

This last winter all I used was an Aldi fleece waistcoat, slippers and the fan heater - I never fired up the oil-filled radiator.

I would go for an old school radiant fire if I could find one. - albeit maybe one with a safety cutout ...

The "quartz" heaters burn out their elements very quickly.
For a while I was continually getting a refund from Screwfix.

Some of the halogen ones have replaceable tubes and I didn't find them lasting very long either - plus there's the annoyance of bright light ...

 

[Elpenor]

I wore long johns and fleece lined “bedroom athletics” slippers last winter and was fine, mind you it was quite mild.