Automated Centralised Controls for Infrared Panels

[lloydh]

We are looking for a centralised control system for infrared panel heaters.

Infrared panels were being used to supplement existing heating systems in a lounge or bedroom or to heat a conservatory or a new extension but as they become more popular and people are becoming aware of them, they are being used to replace whole heating systems, especially electric storage radiators and oil fired boiler systems

The panels are from 250watt to 850watt and currently, we use various types of plugin or wireless thermostats to control them.

This works fine but means that each room has to be set separately and there is a growing demand for an automated system that will allow all of the panels to be controlled from one point and from a smart phone/Ipad etc.

On small installs most people are happy with a plugin option but on larger installations they prefer the panels to be hard wired and the cables hidden.

We have just started looking at these controls and there seems to be a lot of new products on the market or about to be launched.

Has anyone got any views on the best and most economical solution that would work for these type of electric heaters?

[martyn.wendon]

I've got a couple of these in my garage / workshop to keep the temperature above freezing when it's really cold and to take the chill out of the air when I'm in there enjoying a bit of man-time :-)

I control them from my HA system using Z-Wave - a couple of Fibaro relays and a Secure Thermostat. A MiCasaVerde Vera central controller lets me handle scheduling and triggering - I have them coming on / off automatically when the temperature drops below zero and when the lights are turned on. I've also got them shutting down if for example I open the garage door. Pretty flexible really, for simple installs you don't even need a central controller as some Z-Wave devices can operate stand-alone using "association".

There's loads of other systems that you could look at - Home Easy, X10, LightwaveRF, Insteon, to mention a few. I've been migrating a lot of my HA stuff to Z-Wave over the past few years as I find it dead simple to retro-fit, in most cases it doesn't need any re-wiring or re-decorating afterwards.

[lloydh]

Thanks Martyn - is Z-wave the way forward do you think? There seems to be a lot of new controllers coming out but a lot of them appear to use the same Z- wave technology.

[martyn.wendon]

Thanks Martyn - is Z-wave the way forward do you think?

I think it may be the only option for something that will work together well "out-of-the-box"?

There's certainly other ways to do it, but they'd likely involve a more DIY approach bringing several technologies together - like using a PC and HomeSeer to control some X10 and Home Easy. This might not be suitable for an end user that just wants a plug and play solution?

[top brake]

We are looking for a centralised control system for infrared panel heaters.

Infrared panels were being used to supplement existing heating systems in a lounge or bedroom or to heat a conservatory or a new extension but as they become more popular and people are becoming aware of them, they are being used to replace whole heating systems, especially electric storage radiators and oil fired boiler systems

The panels are from 250watt to 850watt and currently, we use various types of plugin or wireless thermostats to control them.

This works fine but means that each room has to be set separately and there is a growing demand for an automated system that will allow all of the panels to be controlled from one point and from a smart phone/Ipad etc.

On small installs most people are happy with a plugin option but on larger installations they prefer the panels to be hard wired and the cables hidden.

We have just started looking at these controls and there seems to be a lot of new products on the market or about to be launched.

Has anyone got any views on the best and most economical solution that would work for these type of electric heaters?

I have seen Honeywell evohome successfully applied to infrared panels, you need to use a wireless thermostat and wireless relay for each heater with evo as central controller

Make sure you don't exceed the current rating on the relay and that you clear the binding on the wireless stat and wireless relay, then bind to evo as a 'zone valve' application type