Hello,
I am looking for a way to remote control the storage heaters in my house. They are connected to a switch in the wall, and I do not mind to remote control the power level but just the on/off.
So what I am basically looking for is a smart switch that I can substitute to the one attached to the wall (13A should be enough but I am not sure). Any suggestion for a good and cheap product?
@JDRoberts, could you help here? Which switch/relay is rated above 13A? I cannot remember but does Fibaro or Qubino has a 16A one?
Need your country. Regulations are different in each!
I am in the UK
@kecco182
As you point out storage heaters are typically hard wired in to a wall plate which has a fused switch in the wall. They are not normally plugged in via a standard power socket.
From a purely technical point of view it would be possible to disable temporarily the electricity to that circuit, replace the special wall plate with a standard plug wall plate and then use a Zigbee or Z-Wave smart socket to control the power to the storage heater.
However not only might you need a qualified electrician to sign off this alteration from a safety point of view but as @7andy points out there maybe special regulations governing how a storage heater is supposed to be connected meaning this approach might not be allowed.
Therefore the first step would be to consult an electrician or storage heater supplier for advice.
My son is all electric with storage heaters and this the way he’s gone with Homeseer. Works fine for him, not sure he’d got a qualified electrician in tho’…
No I am sorry. Changing the socket is probably against the rules of the house renting. I was thinking to build up an external automatic switcher with 3D printed pieces and Arduino, I will let you know.
I don’t know of any all-in-one switches for the specification. But the Aeotec heavy duty in-line relay should work fine and is available on both the UK and US Z wave frequencies.
It’s expensive for a reason: higher load switches need more safety features and better quality materials. I doubt if you could make one yourself that would meet local fire safety codes.
You can put the Aeotec in a junction box inside the wall (It doesn’t have to be right at the switchbox as long as it’s on the same circuit branch) or on the wall.
I want to make an automatic button presser, such as the SwitchBot:
I tried to buy one but is not strong enough for the UK wall switch, so I want to create a more suitable one. It should not be dangerous in any way.
What’s the force requirement in kilograms?
How to Determine Force Required to Push a Door or Button or Lever
I did not check that yet, I am quite busy at work. I will let you know as soon as I do it.
