Which Nest thermostat compatible with infrared heaters?

[Alison999]

We have five fairly ancient infrared heaters in our village hall (for now!) running at a total of 7.5kW. A connector currently enables a wired-in thermostat to operate them, but it does not have the granular programming capabilities we need. A Nest thermostat would (not sure which model) - but are Nest thermostats compatible with an infrared heating system? Any insights or alternative suggestions are most welcome. Thank you. 

[cwbywy]

I can only assume, yes.  You should take pictures of you current wiring to the infrared controller and thermostat.  That would help.

[Alison999]

Thanks. I've just had a very helpful conversation with a 'Nest Pro' and it seems we will be fine because of the contactor already being part of the set-up. I'm getting a quotation 😊

[dhx227]

Note: depending on the type of "wired-in" thermostat you already have, you may have additional items/work required.   Infrared heaters typically operate on 220vac and are not much different than an in-wall or baseboard electric heater.   If your "wired-in" thermostat is a thermostat designed to work with A/C heaters, then you will need some additional parts and wiring in order to control the infrared heaters.   Basically, a 24vac transformer and a 220vac-rated relay.   If the "infrared controller" already handles this, then you are set.   However, I'm glad you mentioned that you have already engaged with an installer.   They should have no problem helping you with either scenario.

[Ryan_G]

Hey folks,

I just wanted to follow up and see if you're still in need of help? Please let us know, as we would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks for your help, dhx227

Best regards,

Ryan

[Alison999]

Thanks for checking on me, Ryan. Whilst Nest would be perfect for our infrareds, or a boiler with radiators, the decision is on hold at the moment whilst we research the final choice of replacement heating system. I'm currently getting aircon quotes. If we went with an oil-filled electric radiator system (which are LOT20 compliant) they have their own individual thermostats and so I believe are incompatible with Nest sitting as another control layer 'over' them, so we would be wasting money until we are sure of our final choice and Nest compatibility. Not sure whether a Nest would sit 'over' aircon system as yet as I haven't asked my Nest Pro contact yet - someone on here may know?

[Ryan_G]

Hi Alison999,

Thanks for your update.

It is recommended to get an advice from your Nest Pro technician as your system is not conventional.

If you have other concerns, please don't hesitate to get back to us.

Best regards,

Ryan

[Ryan_G]

Hey folks,

Thanks for visiting the Google Nest Community. 

Since this thread hasn't had activity in a while, we're going to close it to keep content fresh.

If you have additional questions, feel free to submit another post and provide as many details as possible so that others can lend a hand. 

Hope this helps!

Kind regards,

Ryan