Why digital thermostats are NOT such a hot buy
Do you get the feeling that some of the gizmos in your home are not as life - changing as they claim to be and yet cost more than the oldfashioned alternatives?
Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of progress. But I’m losing patience with a lot of tech now , and I question the claims made by so many manufacturers that their latest product will help bring costs down. Most of the time they don’t!
Take the simple thermostat on your wall. I say ‘simple’, but they’ve become increasingly complex and, to my mind, downright stupid in recent years.
My nice, basic thermostat recently broke and I asked my plumber to replace it with the same, simple, analogue dial that I could turn on and off. Instead he got me a digital one.
Admittedly it’s not too com - plex, I just have to keep pressing an ‘up’ button or a ‘down’ button to increase or reduce heat, but the dial was still better.
It could be worse. My friend Helen, who recently moved into a new flat, has inherited a ridiculously complex digital thermostat that’s so difficult to understand she found herself freezing at night and boiling in the morning. She asked me if I could help, so I pored over the instructions and finally worked out that it was one of those awful gadgets that only allows you particular pre-arranged settings. you can’t turn it on and off when desired.
Next time I need a replacement thermostat, I’m going to look online because I’ve discovered you can still get ‘ analogue’ thermostats (the ones with just a dial that you turn from 10c to 30c) starting from £16.13 on Amazon or Screwfix.
As a rule, a ‘manual’ thermo - stat (which may be a digital display one, or could be the analogue version) costs between £15 to £40, while a programmable one (like the annoying gizmo my friend Helen has) can cost up to £100.
A smart thermostat, meanwhile, that you can control with your phone, costs between £70 to £250.
you can find some cheaper ones like the Hive Mini w ireless Smart Thermostat which is just £58.99 at screwfix. com , though this is designed for new building installa - tions, rather than upgrades to existing central heating.
when it comes to which type of thermostat saves you the most on your heating bill, personally, I would say that if you ’re disciplined, the basic, manual ones save the most as you can switch the heating right off (or down) when you want to.
I am equally as sceptical about smart meters. Although they are great at showing us how much energy we’re using , you don ’t need one to tell you to switch off the computer, TV or microwave. Smart meters have also been known to suffer glitches (of course they do, they’re digital) and there are fears that energy companies will one day start to use these devices to charge us more for using power at peak times. So although energy companies are keen for house - holders to have a smart meter, if you don ’ t want one, you can refuse. As for smartphones. I’ve had one for years, but recently I met a guy at a conference who proudly showed me his ‘ dumb phone’, which he said cost him under £100 to buy and the battery lasts for weeks. I was tempted to trade in my smartphone then and there. I do use some of its clever features, such as the ‘maps’ app and the camera but many other functions are obsolete for me. ‘Dumb ’ phones are not tracking your every move and word either. I feel uneasy feeling each time an ad pops up on my phone that is uncannily connected to something I’ve said earlier in the day.
Clearly, I’m not the only one who is thinking along these lines because ‘ dumb’ phones have enjoyed a resurgence. Google searches rose by 89 per cent between 2018 to 2021, according to the Seo company Semrush.
They are even gaining popularity with younger users because they are cheaper to buy and run. Take the V odafone Doro 1370, which is £16.99 at argos.co.uk.
It’s not so easy to find a ‘dumb’ car these days, however . According to A uto express, the Dacia Sandero is the best bet for those like me who don ’t want gadgets. The lowest spec still has air - con, remote central locking and cruise control, but there is no touchscreen.
for old- fashioned wind- up windows, you might get lucky at