Heating costs are soaring, making energy-efficient solutions more attractive than ever. Electric blankets offer a targeted approach, keeping you warm without needing to heat the entire house. But what if you need to heat a specific room with no central heating? In our in-depth review of the Aeno Premium Eco Smart Heater we see if more efficient infrared heaters are the best heating option.
Infrared heaters use less power than traditional convection heaters by warming objects directly instead of the air. However, some models like the Aeno Premium Eco Smart Heater combine infrared with convection for a more room-encompassing warmth.
The key question: is the higher cost of an infrared heater justified by its efficiency? Let’s break down the factors to consider:
- Energy usage: Infrared heaters generally use less electricity than convection heaters.
- Heating speed: Convection heaters may warm a room faster initially.
- Targeted vs. whole-room heating: Electric blankets provide targeted warmth, while infrared heaters can heat objects or a whole room (depending on the model).
- Upfront cost: Infrared heaters are often more expensive than convection heaters.
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Ultimately, the best choice depends on your specific needs and budget. If you need to heat a drafty room occasionally, a targeted solution like an electric blanket might suffice. But for frequent use in a larger space, an infrared heater could be a more cost-effective option in the long run, despite the higher initial cost. Let’s find out.
Design & Build
The Aeno heater boasts a sleek, modern design that will complement any décor. Available in black, white, or grey, it features a tempered glass sandwich construction, with the heating element presumably housed between the glass panels. Its slim profile measures just 11mm thick, making it a discreet addition to your space. It stands 365mm tall and stretches a meter wide.
Be sure to opt for the latest LED model, if you can. This version differentiates itself from the original with a handy control panel display. The display shows both the current and your desired temperature settings. Additionally, the control panel offers buttons for adjusting the temperature and a “Smart” button that allows you to switch between continuous heating and an energy-saving mode.
Don’t be fooled by similar-looking heaters with glass panels. These often rely on different heating technologies and typically consume more power than the infrared-based Aeno.
The Aeno provides both freestanding and wall-mounted options for your convenience. The included feet allow for easy setup on the floor. Wall-mounting is also possible using the provided wall mounts and thumbscrews. However, if you choose vertical wall mounting, be aware that it might obstruct the view of the buttons and display. In such cases, you’ll need to access the controls from the side of the heater.
Compared to other heaters, and other design-focused heaters specifically, the Aeno Premium Eco Smart Heater stand out as a technological art piece. It’s built extremely well and very easy to set-up, whether on its strong aluminium feet or when mounted on the wall.
Software & Features
The Aeno heater’s companion app offers a range of features that enhance convenience and control. It acts as a remote control, allowing you to turn the heater on or off, adjust the temperature, and set schedules to ensure a warm welcome in a room before you enter. The app even lets you adjust the brightness of the heater’s display for added comfort. For Aeno units mounted on the ceiling, there’s a dedicated setting to optimize performance.
While a selling point of infrared heaters is that they typically don’t get hot themselves, the Aeno’s glass panel is an exception because it combines infrared and convection heating technologies. The app allows you to set the glass temperature between 60°C and 120°C. Lower settings are ideal for homes with children, while higher settings heat rooms faster but consume more energy (energy efficiency will be covered in a future section).
Safety is another priority – the app will notify you and automatically shut down the heater if it accidentally tips over. Scheduling is also a breeze – set timers for a specific duration or create programs to ensure a warm environment upon waking up or entering a room. The app is particularly useful for controlling heaters in out-of-the-way locations like sunrooms or garden sheds. You can turn it on before you head out, guaranteeing a warm space upon arrival without venturing outside.
For ultimate convenience, the Aeno integrates with Alexa and Google Assistant. With voice commands, you can completely control the heater hands-free, including turning it on/off and adjusting the temperature. Just remember to rename the heater in your smart assistant app to something shorter to avoid a tongue twister every time you issue a voice command.
Performance
The Aeno Premium Eco Smart Heater delivers solid performance, but with limitations. While Aeno claims it can heat rooms up to 30 square meters, that’s a bit ambitious. It excels in spaces roughly half that size.
One advantage is the use of infrared heating, which provides a sensation similar to sunlight – you feel warmth instantly. However, this means positioning is crucial. Objects between you and the heater will be heated instead of you.
The heater also features a convection element – the hot glass panel. This warms the air like a traditional radiator, but without the noise or allergens associated with fan-powered heaters. It’s a slower process, but cranking the panel temperature to 120°C speeds things up. Even at this setting, the app reports power usage of just over 600W, significantly lower than most electric heaters which guzzle between 1000W and 3000W or even more. Switching to lower temperatures and using the Smart heating mode further reduces energy consumption. For example, setting the panel temperature to 60°C only used about 200W of energy.
The companion app attempts to be helpful with energy graphs in the Statistics tab, but falls short. You can see daily energy use, but there’s no way to track heater runtime or calculate costs based on your electricity rate. Additionally, a graph showing temperature over time would be a welcome inclusion to visualize heating speed and room temperature fluctuations.
Conclusion
Heating is expensive, and its just getting more expensive year after year. Gas can be burnt through quickly and leave a smell, while conventional convection heaters use a lot of electricity. The Aeno Premium Eco Smart Heater sets itself apart from the crowd, firstly in its efficiency. Depending on the size of the room you are trying to heat, it can use between a tenth and a half of the electricity of other heaters.
This technology doesn’t come cheap, though, as it more expensive than conventional options. However, given the efficiency and design-forward approach, we believe it is well worth the R4,800 price. This is especially true if you tend to use your heaters a lot.
The smart functionality means you can easily set your heating options remotely, ready for when you get home or when you’re ready to get into bed. While the app doesn’t have all the features we would like, it includes all the basic features to mean you never need to manually set your heater ever again. It is truly beautiful and a design piece that would fit in any modern home.
Where to buy: https://aeno.com/where-to-buy
