Have a new baby and the temperature in the room drops at around 3am. Are there any electric heaters with a thermostat that can turn on by itself, say if the room’s temperature is 16 degrees. Brand recommendations and models welcomed. Budget is $400. Thank you!
Smart Heaters That Turn on by Themselves When Room Gets Cold
Flowerbomb on 20/04/2025 - 11:01
Last edited 20/04/2025 - 11:01
Last edited 20/04/2025 - 11:01
Comments
I have a Tuya wifi temperature sensor and a Tuya smart plug. I set the automation to turn on the plug when the temp drops below a certain temp and turn the switch off again when the temp is above a certain temp.
Thermostats have been around for centuries, it's quite a stretch to call it a smart device.
We used oil filled finned heaters 20 years ago that had thermostats
.Thermostat was invented in 1830, so its just coming up on two centuries. The electric thermostat was only invented 53 years later, and even then it was only to signal the janitor to come adjust the furnace.
This comes in under budget, and has a thermostat:
https://www.kmart.com.au/product/fan-heater-black-and-white-…
If you want fine precision of room temperature, the Tuya (or other) sensor plus smart-plug can be added.
I've been there! Here is my lived experience on the matter:
1.Get this to detect the room temp and turn and off based on the temp reading at the probe. This is much better than a built in thermostat as you can place the probe near the baby's cot as well as calibrate the temp in the app (you might have smart temp sensors in the room so you can calibrate to match that as well, if you wanted).
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/322181962638?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mk…
- Get a reliable oil column heater of your choice - leave it on low setting (usually 1200w), set to on and plugged into the smart temp controller above. It will turn on when the smart temp controller detects the temp via the prob heat the min temp and turn off once it reaches the max temp.
The setup above has worked flawless for me, allows remote control (don't need to go into the room), live read of temp (which can be adjusted) and choice of any heater.
I used a smart wifi oil heater before and it was so unreliable and had stupid lights and a beep, and thermostats in oil heaters needed a tonne of calibration to figure out the cutoff temp but then would no longer be accurate when the weather changes - very frustrating.
Oil column heaters have a bi-metal thermostat. Head into HN as they will sell you what you want for the biggest profit.
For better deal check out one with a fan and three heat settings. For kids use the lowest heat setting so the fan is on all the time so as to heat up all of the room other wise you will end up with cold spots.
Check out google for prices and places near you.
Something like this:https://www.thegoodguys.com.au/delonghi-2400w-oil-column-heater-with-timer-dl2401tf
The timer allows you to only turn it on between say 9PM and 7AM so it does not heat up the room during the day.
Radiators don't usually have thermostats.
Convection heaters usually do. In fact I'd be surprised if any don't. Plenty of those available. You should be able to do a lot better than $400.
Whether its a radiator or a convection heater it produces the same amount of heat per kilowatt of power used, and that can add up to a considerable amount if left running overnight through winter to keep the whole of a poorly insulated room warm when only what's in the bed need to be. So the first thing to do if you are going to go down this path is to do it in as smaller possible a room with well insulated curtains and a closed door.
Alternative to all of the above, which are all sound too. Reverse cycle air conditioning. Can set a temp on low fan and it will only heat when needed to bring it to desired temp. Got this in our kids room when they were a baby and it’s been great summer and winter. It’s great when there are bush fires or other smoke outside as you can still have air flowing without opening windows and it comes with filters. We’re SE QLD though, so the humidity alone makes it worthwhile.
First baby eh?
I wonder how babies ever survived before central heating and helicopter parents?
Unless the baby is premature, no heater actually needed. Just a wrap.
Babies have a built-in alert to let you know if there is a problem.Some people don’t enjoy that alarm going off more than it needs to for feeds, nappy changes etc. Also we used to have fires and furs, which are less practical in a modern home. There’s nothing ‘helicopter parent’ about heating your home with a baby. It’s a convenience and comfort.
What next?
How did babies ever survive without refrigeration for their foods? just give the the bone to naw on straight after killing the animal then you won’t need to refrigerate the meat.
How did babies ever survive without infant car seats? Just put them in the front seat, and it will improve their balance.
How did babies ever survive without lighting in the home, all that’s needed is a candle and you should be able to see fine.Damn helicopter parents….
I wonder how babies ever survived before …
Actually, a lot didn't. That's why people had so many of them. Because so many didn't survive. You've only got to look back a few generations and it wasn't unusual for women typically to have 10 kids. Like with most animals.
You think kids died because their blankets came off on sub-16 degree nights?
For those who've not had kids yet, swaddling is good for newborns or sleep-sacks, as loose blankets can be a hazard.
Noirot panel heaters are well regarded.
https://www.thegoodguys.com.au/noirot-1000w-spot-plus-panel-…