Discreet and elegant with its cylindrical design, the small Threesixty 2 connected radiator from Duux is enough to quickly heat a room. But its limited application prevents it from being integrated into a complete home automation system.
Connected objects come in all flavors today. And this is very logical with the generalization of Wi-Fi, smartphones and permanent high and very high speed Internet in homes. So, after televisions (the famous smart TVs), lamps, electrical outlets and speakers, it is the turn of household appliances and comfort devices for the home to go through the connection box. And if we already knew about refrigerators, washing machines and connected kitchen robots, we see more and more “utility” objects following the trend, as evidenced by new generation thermostats and locks, which offer many advantages over their traditional equivalents.
It is in this register of domestic accessories that the Dutch company Duux has specialized with, in its catalog, several connected objects dedicated to home comfort such as air conditioners, fans, humidifiers, dehumidifiers or even systems auxiliary heating, like the Threesixty 2 that we tested. Here is our verdict after a few weeks of use.
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Duux Threesixty 2: a discreet and elegant radiator
It’s hard to guess from afar that the Threesixty is an electric ceramic fan heater! With its particularly elegant cylindrical format, the device could pass for a decorative object. Especially since its small dimensions make it rather discreet: it only measures 30 cm high with a diameter of 21.5 cm, all for a weight of around 2 kg. It is therefore also easily transportable around the house, while being capable, according to the manufacturer, of heating a room with a maximum surface area of 30 m2with a power varying from 800 to 1800 W. And as its name suggests (for English speakers), the Threesixty (understand 360 for 360 degrees) diffuses heat all around it, via the circular vent at its top, it can be placed in the middle of a room for optimal use.
The Threesixty 2’s control panel, available at the foot, is also very discreet. There is only one toggle button to turn the heater on and off and also to choose between three fan speeds to diffuse heat more or less quickly. But this discretion comes at the expense of use since it is impossible to access all the functions of the device, including the most basic of them, namely the change in target temperature. To do this, you absolutely have to go through the application which communicates with the Threesixty 2 via Wi-Fi. Really regrettable.
Duux Threesixty 2: simple installation
To control the radiator, you must install the Duux application found in the iPhone App Store or the Play Store on an Android smartphone. Please note, there are two versions on the two application stores and you must install version 2, the one displaying a white icon with the Duux logo in green (and not the other way around). It’s a shame that Duux didn’t manage to simply evolve its application through successive updates. Once the right application is installed, connecting to the radiator is very simple, connecting it to the home Wi-Fi network in less than a minute. You must also create an account with Duux.
Once the radiator is selected in the app, you have access to all its functions and in particular the choice of the temperature you wish to reach in the room via the vertical carousel on the right side. Below the photo of the radiator, the app displays the current temperature of the room. The principle is simple: when the room temperature reaches the desired temperature, the radiator stops. And it resumes as soon as the temperature drops. The problem is that during our test, the temperature sensor integrated into the radiator seemed unreliable, displaying a difference of at least two degrees with a thermometer placed in the same room, sufficiently distant from the radiator itself to not not be influenced.
Duux Threesixty 2: limited home automation integration
Having a built-in thermostat is not enough to make this heater a smart device. It’s true, you can control it remotely, even far from home, to trigger it a little before arriving home, for example. You can also create a usage schedule over a week, to start and stop it at set times, using the Schedule tab found at the bottom of the application window. In terms of ergonomics, that said, the planning range is confusing because it does not offer any button for creating a range of use: you must directly press on the screen in one of the columns of the calendar. Not really intuitive.
But we especially regret that the radiator does not really integrate into the home automation environment of the house. You can start or stop it by voice from a Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa and… that’s about it! No way to integrate it with pre-programmed scenes in the Apple Home application, for example, to stop the heating when you leave the house or start it using a connected thermostat which would control the rest of the heating. the House.
Duux Threesixty 2: a minimalist system
If Duux emphasizes the connected side of its products by highlighting the application which allows them to be controlled remotely, this is not enough to make them truly connected, by integrating them into a real home automation universe. In its current form, the Threesixty 2 will not be able to join the range of connected objects already installed in a home and managed in the Apple Home application or in Google Home on Android. However, if you are simply looking for a remotely controllable heating system with basic functions (on/off and temperature adjustment), it may suit you, especially since at 99 euros, its price remains very reasonable and it heats efficiently. But you have to keep in mind that as it stands, it is above all a remote control radiator. Hopefully Duux improves its app in the future to make it up to par with what is expected of a true connected device these days.