The LOT20 heating regulations are upon us! Luckily, our NXTGEN heaters are ready and equipped to steer your heating into an even more efficient, cost-saving future.

NXTGEN Panel

What Does It All Mean?

LOT20 is the name given to some regulations that are part of the European Eco-design Directive that are aimed at lowering the energy consumption of the heating in our homes. As a consumer, there is absolutely nothing you have to do. The onus is on the manufacturers and sellers to get any heaters manufactured after the 1st January 2018 to comply.

It’s not just infrared heaters, either – LOT20 covers storage heaters, electric radiators, under-floor heaters, and many other types, too. Brexit won’t make a difference, either, as the regulations have been written into UK law. You won’t have to do anything, however, as it’s us sellers that have to make sure our heaters follow the regulations set out.

What Are These Regulations?

For these heaters manufactured after the 1st January 2018, there are two different ways they must become more efficient. Firstly, they must be fitted with an electronic room temperature control plus week timer. This means they will no longer have to rely on inaccurate and inefficient mechanical thermostats with their basic dials.

Much more accurate thermostats will mean you’re not overheating or under-heating your room unnecessarily. Plus, with a week timer, you can plan your heating around your schedule, so you know the heater isn’t kicking in when you’re not at home.

The other regulation affecting infrared panel heaters is that they must have one of the following energy-saving features:

  • Distance Control Option
  • Adaptive Start Control
  • Open Window Sensing

Distance Control means the heater needs to be Wi-Fi compatible, in order to control the heater from a remote location. Adaptive Start Control is where the system predicts the optimal heating time to reach the desired temperature at the desired time. Open Window Sensing is where the product shuts down when a window is open, to save unnecessary usage.

In total, the efficiency of the heater must reach 38% efficiency on the EU’s simplified scale. The absolute maximum rating a heater can attain is 40% efficiency on this scale. All electric space heaters start with a base efficiency rating of 30%. They then get bonus additions to the rating based on what features it has.

The Bonus Points

infrared heating panel

If the product is equipped with: (Only 1 option applies) Bonus rating for electric local space heaters
Single stage heat output, no room temperature control 0%
Two or more manual stages, no temperature control 0%
With mechanic thermostat room temperature control 1%
With electronic room temperature control 3%
With electronic room temperature control plus day timer 5%
With electronic room temperature control plus week timer 7%

 

As you can see from the above table, temperature controls that don’t allow accurate temperatures to be emitted receive no bonus for their rating, meaning they’ll likely be phased out entirely. That goes for mechanical thermostats, too, as they are inaccurate and inefficient.

There are also the bonus marks for additional features…

If the product is equipped with: (multiple options may apply) Bonus rating for electric local space heaters
Room temperature control with presence detection 0%
With working time limitation 0%
With black bulb sensor 0%
Room temperature control with open window detection 1%
With distance control option 1%
With adaptive start control 1%

 

With a necessity for 38% to conform to LOT20, you’d need just one bonus feature with the additional 7%. If a heater offered two of these bonus features, well, they’d be going above and beyond the requirements to save you energy and money…

The NXTGEN Heaters

NXTGEN Logo

Speaking of going above and beyond, Surya are very proud to announce our new NXT-Gen Infrared Panel Heaters!

A real first in the field, we are happy to be pioneering this NXTGEN technology to provide you with an industry first! Our NXTGEN infrared panels now completely conform to LOT20, offering a complete heating package that gets a 39% efficiency rating. This is well above the minimum efficiency rating the EU specifies. It's only 1% off the maximum efficiency we can possibly attain, too!

That’s because our NXTGEN heaters come with an electronic temperature control with week timer, open window technology, and adaptive start control!

This Means…

With automatic temperature control, each panel can automatically regulate the temperature in your room by switching on and off when it’s either 0.5˚C above or below the desired temperature. This means you don’t have to worry about maintaining the right temperature. The panel has the brains to do it for you.

It’s simple to program your heater too, with our simple intuitive remote control that's included with every NXTGEN panel. You can choose separate on/off times for every different day, so your weekend lie-in’s warmth can be adjusted suitably.

The NXTGEN panel is extremely brainy too, with its amazing Smart Start technology.  It does all the thinking for you. No more “I get up at 7, so I’ll set my dial to 6 so hopefully it’ll warm up for when I get up”. You set the panel to come on when you get up, and it puts in the planning beforehand. It will measure your room’s temperature and turn itself on. This could be at 6.43am, or 6.19am, or 6.55am – it ensures the room will heat up to your desired temperature at bang on 7am.

There is more waiting around for the heating to kick in, and no more unnecessary early heating of the room. It's just an intelligent way to heat your room up right.

And that’s not all – the NXTGEN panel also comes with Open Window Technology. When you open a window, the temperature will of course drop suddenly, and the panel recognises this. If it senses that the temperature has dropped by more than 1.5˚C in 3 minutes, it will switch off to save energy. This is because trying to heat a room that has an open window is extremely inefficient.

Panel on wall of office

Innovation at an Innovative Price

These panels aren’t even expensive, as we believe in a more sustainable future. These energy-efficient heaters are at the forefront of this push. As a pioneer of this NXTGEN technology, we firmly believe that these heaters are the best on the market. With a 39% efficiency score, they are at the forefront of any infrared heaters on offer today.

If you have any further questions on LOT20, or on our fantastic NXTGEN panel heaters, then don’t be afraid to get in touch. Give us a call on 0116 321 4124, email us at sales@suryaheating.co.uk, or check out our Facebook and Twitter.