So, you’ve worked out what panels you want to buy, and what wattage you need to effectively cover the area, the next step is deciding how you’re going to control it. This is a completely dependant on personal choice and how you want to use it. Therefore, we have made a quick guide to give you a helping hand in finalising your decisions.
Why Control Your Heaters?
It is always recommended to control your panel in one way or another to increase their already energy-efficient nature. This is because the difference with Infrared technology is that it heats objects directly, the same way the sun does.
Conventional methods however warm the air and create a current due to the warm air naturally rising. This is a much slower process as it takes far longer to heat air and feel any benefits when compared to heat being directly exuded using Far-Infrared waves.
Even though our panels are incredibly eco-friendly anyway, managing your heating will be the best way to further reduce your monthly bills. This is due to them needing to be on for less time and at lower temperatures as you don’t need to overcompensate to feel the effects quicker. Using either a remote or external thermostat is the easiest way to regulate it.
Plug-In Controls
The first choice you have is pretty straightforward being a plug-in thermostat. Our favourite is the Electronic Plug-in Thermostat with 24 Hour Control. This is normally recommended when aesthetics don’t play the biggest role as you simply leave the cable and plug it into the thermostat. Most people use this on wall mounted panels or even free-standing panels.
What makes it so useful is the simplicity of the design, allowing you to control the heater with ease. The LED monitor shows the temperature and mode selection for the adaptable time periods of when you want the heater on and off. It even has an integrated temperature sensor to stabilise the heat so you create an ambient atmosphere instead of getting too hot.
External Thermostat
If you wanted to boost the wow-factor, we recommend chopping off the plug and going cable-free, getting any qualified electrician to fit the panel into the spur within the wall. This makes the fitting much easier on the eye, and even much safer eradicating any issues that may arise from the cable itself.
This means that you will need an external thermostat to control even just turning it on and off. These thermostats allow you to view the temperature and allows you to control it digitally, which is even more beneficial in a bathroom. As electrics aren’t typically suitable for the bathroom, the plug will need to go anyway, making it the best option for this type of environment.
Our gorgeous mirror panel are a particularly good choice for bathrooms, as they won’t steam up, and can even drastically reduce mould and damp issues.
Remote Controllable
For your peace of mind, we ensure our products are LOT20 compliant, a regulation that came in on the 1st of January 2018. Our white IR panels, and all of our image and custom image panels fully comply with this and are the NXT Gen range.
This means that they come with a variety of settings giving you the ultimate control over your heating. For starters, they come with an integrated temperature sensor which monitors the conditions of the area it is trying to heat.
They also come with multiple settings so you can be in charge. Our favourite is adaptive start – saving you both time and energy. It will create the temperature you desire for whatever time you would like, making it much easier to get out of bed on those frosty winter mornings!
It also gives you a seven-day timer, allowing you to decide when you want the heater to be on or off all week long. It then has open window detection which looks out for significant drops in temperature, if it does, it then powers off to conserve energy.
The most useful is probably the automated temperature control. This is what can save you the most on your electricity bills as it consistently turns itself on and off to maintain a temperature you decide. Thanks to the heat not being lost by drafts and being absorbed by the objects itself, there is a higher heat retention, making it warmer for longer.
A Few Extras
We even have a couple more options for you, they’re not as common, but work just as well! If you have a smart home, you could directly sync the heaters to either Hive or Nest as they are entirely compliant. This allows you to control them using different thermostats and on phones/tablets.
We also have PIR sensors which pick up on your movement. Most commonly used in bathrooms, it will turn the heater on when you are present. If you were to use the bathroom for 10 minutes, it will only be on for this time period and as the heat is instant, you will be sure to feel the effects straight the way.
We understand how confusing new technology and multiple options can be, which is why we have a team of experts who are here to give you a helping hand. Get in touch with us on 0116 436 2250, or send us an email to sales@mirrorstone.co.uk.
For even more information, hit the button below and request a FREE catalogue full of all the information you need about infrared heating. Simply fill the form out and we’ll handle the rest.