Tristan Haldane

Hi all, thanks for the feedback.  I'm thinking at the moment that this probably isn't going to be something I develop.  The required battery size, and the issues that rechargeable batteries can have when temperature cycled through low temperatures means this potential project falls further down the priority list to a point where it may not get resurrected.  The product would really only be applicable to climates such as here in Ireland where there aren't really well defined seasons and it might be spring/summer for weeks and then actually get a frost one night.  not a big enough market.

Joseph - re temperature - I've quite often moved a fan by holding it at the top, and even with the stove roaring away the top of the fan has always been <60C (otherwise I couldn't hold it) which would be fine.
I think definitely it wouldn't be a product for everyone, but there are plenty of stoves sold in cities and the stove seller/installers are an ideal OEM/distributor for it - if the cost were only 50% more than a regular fan (already not very expensive) then I think it could at least be a 'lifestyle business' if not a fortune 500  what do you think?

thanks everyone so far - it's all valuable feedback

i know the fans aren't great, but lots of people have them and they aren't that expensive... even the guy in the video bashing them had at least 2 lol.  the problem with a kit to add to an existing fan is that there aren't standardised connectors to make it easy - a lot even have the wires soldered rather than a snap on molex connector etc.  the fact they aren't that good makes me fine with the idea of siphoning off some of their power.  i'm not worried about the temperature - the top half of these fans doesn't get too hot.

I think perhaps you guys aren't the target market for this if you rarely use a phone, haha!  I have a reasonably high tech home and would love a phone notification or for [one of my 3] Alexa to tell me "The stove will need more wood in the next 30 minutes".  It sounds like it's more a gadget for the city folks like me!

Thanks for feedback so far - I do have some concerns about how much power would be required.  my intended market was people who moved seedlings to the greenhouse when they believed the last frost of the year is over and so this would only be for an emergency where the temperature dipped on only one night infrequently.  I also wondered about not incorporating a battery and leaving it up to the customer to add a rechargeable 12V battery eg a cheap car battery.
Joseph - what is the outside temperature when you are using 48kWh?  what temp does it try to maintain?

Hi!  I'm considering developing a smart stove fan.
I'm an experienced engineer in Northern Ireland and I'm considering starting up my own business making a few, hopefully useful, things - your feedback will be invaluable in deciding whether to progress this as a product!

The basic idea is this:
A peltier powered fan also has a wifi module and a thermometer.  It would let you know when the temperature goes too high (you've forgotten to turn it down after lighting!) or too low (you need to add more wood)

1.  would you want one?  do you think it would be useful?
2.  are there any particular features you'd like to see in it?  are there any problems you would anticipate?
3.  do you know of any other solution that is already on the market?
4.  how much would you pay for it?
5.  any other feedback welcome!

Thanks a lot - Tristan

Hi!  I'm considering developing a solar powered frost guard for greenhouses.
I'm an experienced engineer in Northern Ireland and I'm considering starting up my own business making a few, hopefully useful, things - your feedback will be invaluable in deciding whether to progress this as a product!

The basic idea is this:
A solar powered battery tops up during the day and if the temperature drops below 4⁰C a small heating fan will maintain the temperature; if the battery is low it will only activate to maintain the temperature above 1⁰C to ensure your seedlings don’t suffer frost damage.

1.  would you want one?  do you think it would be useful?
2.  are there any particular features you'd like to see in it?  are there any problems you would anticipate?
3.  do you know of any other solution that is already on the market?
4.  how much would you pay for it?
5.  any other feedback welcome!

Thanks a lot - Tristan