IFA Finally Showed Me a Smart Answer for Home Radiator Heating

I’ve covered the many ways smart thermostats can convert your home to a well-heated haven and how quickly they can pay for themselves through energy savings, but there’s one glaring issue. Almost all smart thermostats are designed only for central hubs and forced air heating/cooling. Imagine my relief when Sonoff showed up at IFA 2026 with a smart alternative. Read more: The Weirdest and Wackiest Tech We Found at IFA 2026 At last, I’ve found an alternative, thanks to Sonoff’s announcement of its latest TRV Smart Thermostatic Radiator Valve. It’s designed to fit on the valve pipe of a traditional home radiator, screwing in place and connecting to Wi-Fi to provide app insights and a full suite of control options. It’s available right now on the Sonoff website for $35 and supports both Celsius and Fahrenheit. It’s difficult to find up-to-date smart radiator solutions in the IS, let alone everything Sonoff is offering here. The valve lets you adjust between several temperature plans and uses an IPS color screen to show temperature and settings at a glance. Its app also offers low-battery alerts so you can recharge it, as well as important reminders for frost protection, anti-calcification maintenance and even connections to window sensors that can automatically stop heating when windows are opened. There’s even a child lock to keep little fingers from messing up your heating schedule. This combination of features is exactly what people need if they live in homes that primarily use radiators, have radiators in addition to central heating, or use radiators only in certain spots, like a finished basement. It offers the same savings potential and convenience as standard smart thermostats, plus some features tailored specifically for radiators. Since I don’t have radiators in my home, I can’t easily test this smart valve out. I’ll have to ask other CNET editors if one of their rooms has a radiator they could test in so we can get real-world results, but everything looks promising here. Are you more of a radiant floor heat home? Sonoff has you covered, too Sonoff also has a smart upgrade for those with heated flooring. Sonoff Many newer homes have a different kind of heating technology, radiant flooring heating, popular in bathrooms and homes with certain kinds of wood flooring. If you’re interested in smart additions to this kind of radiant heating, Sonoff brought good news to IFA for you, too. Sonoff also announced a Thermostat Core, designed to fit standard hydronic underfloor heating systems. It outfits floor heating with complete app controls, scheduling options and connection options with Sonoff temperature sensors, so floor heating can respond to the current temperature of a specific room. It sports a presence-activated screen, frost protection and other synergies similar to the radiator valve, too. I don’t currently have pricing information for the Thermostat Core, but when I find out the details, I’ll let you know. While I’m most excited about the smart heating, I’d be remiss not to mention that Sonoff announced several other smart products at IFA. It showed off an indoor siren and, most notably, a window security cam. Eufy also showed up with a window camera at IFA, so it’s apparently a new home security trend. Wyze got in the game much earlier this year with its own window security cam, and you can see what I thought about it here. These unique, covered cams fit directly on windows and are particularly useful for apartments and similar spots. Tyler has worked on, lived with and tested all types of smart home and security technology for over a dozen years, explaining the latest features, privacy tricks, and top recommendations. With degrees in Business Management, Literature and Technical Writing, Tyler takes every opportunity to play with the latest AI technology, push smart devices to their limits and occasionally throw cameras off his roof, all to find the best devices to trust in your life. He always checks with the renters (and pets) in his life to see what smart products can work for everyone, in every living situation. Living in beautiful Bend, Oregon gives Tyler plenty of opportunities to test the latest tech in every kind of weather and temperature. But when not at work, he can be found hiking the trails, trying out a new food recipe for his loved ones, keeping up on his favorite reading, or gaming with good friends. See full bio