The Best Tech To Keep You Warm This Winter

From toasty toes to remote-controlled radiators

We love winter, but sometimes it gets so cold that the central heating just isn’t enough. Not to worry: there’s tons of tech designed to keep you toasty. There are lots of heaters for your home in a range of prices. If money is no object, Dyson’s Purifier Hot+Cool uses Dyson’s bladeless fan technology to deliver winter warmth or summer cool without the buffering or noise of traditional fan heaters. Now might be a good time to invest in a smart heating system. Systems such as British Gas’s Hive enable you to make your thermostat smart, so you can control it from your phone, tablet, smartwatch or smart speaker. You can get it to turn on automatically when you’re coming home and off when you’re going out, so you’re not paying to heat an empty home. You can also get smart radiator valves that only heat the room(s) you’re currently using. Many free-standing heaters and radiators have built-in timers, but you can also add a smart timer to existing plug-in heaters by fitting a £10 smart plug. If you have frosty feet an electric foot warmer could be a brilliant buy. We like the ones that look like a single oversized slipper – although they’re not ideal when you have to get up and answer the door. Technology has the answer when we venture outside too. In addition to smart fabrics that retain body heat, which you’ll find in products such as Columbia Sportswear’s Omni-Heat jackets and fleeces, you can even take an electric blanket under your coat: lots of different firms make heated body warmers, which look like normal body warmers but include heating elements and batteries that recharge just like phones. Expect around ten hours of warmth at the lowest setting and three on high. To just warm up your hands, you can get a rechargeable hand warmer, or there’s a rechargeable heated scarf for less than £10 – and if your car doesn’t have heated seats, you can add a heated cushion for less than £40.

Columbia Omni-Heat Jacket

There’s a whole range of OmniHeat products from this famous sportswear brand, including fleeces, lightweight coats and heavy jackets.

From around £200, Columbia.com

Hive Smart Thermostat

Make any heating system into a smart heating system with the Hive Smart Thermostat. You can control it with your phone, tablet, smart watch or smart speaker.

£249 including installation, Hive.com Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool

Keep cool in summer, warm in winter and breathe nicer air all year round with this typically clever Dyson appliance.

£549, Dyson.com

Zippo Heat Bank 9s Hand Warmer

Zippo are famous for their lighters, but there’s a whole range of hand warmers too. The 9s is the latest model, and it not only heats your hands but charges your gadgets too.

£44, zippo.co.uk Conqueco Heated Vest

There are many heated vests on sites such as Amazon and this is one of the more expensive models, but it has hundreds of positive reviews.

£102, Amazon.co.uk

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Tucked behind a Big Red (and freshly muralled) shutter in the very heart of Leith, Coburg House Art Studios has been a creative home to artists, makers and designers for the past 22 years. The studios have grown, now taking over all four floors of this former granary building, and is now the proud home to a dynamic creative community with a well established reputation for excellence. In addition to 50 studio spaces with over 70 artists, the building offers a gallery and event space (which can be hired for your own exhibition) and a shop offering paintings, prints, jewellery, textiles and so much more all made by the artists of Coburg. The shop and gallery is open every weekend from 11am to 4pm. Twice a year, pandemic allowing, the artists open the doors to the whole building. It’s a bi-annual chance to see behind the scenes of a working studio complex, poke around the artistic process, ask the creatives questions, and get your hands on some real rare finds. We’re talking one-off pieces, discontinued ranges, prototypes and completely unique gifts. Plus, there’s a pop-up coffee shop from Coburg’s friends Domenicos, because with more than 70 creatives to chat to, you’ll probably need a pick-me-up during your journey. The next open studios event will happen on the Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th December 2021, doors will be open from 10am to 5pm. Pre-pandemic, the open studios could be a busy affair, but you can rest assured the artists have organised this event with the utmost care and consideration for your safety. Numbers will be monitored to make sure the studios don’t get too crowded, hand sanitiser provided in all studios and regular disinfection of the public spaces. It’s the perfect chance to see what the artists have been up to during a variety of lockdowns, get a handle on the Christmas shopping and shop local and handmade. Coburg House Art Studios are located at 15 Coburg Street, just off the Shore and opposite the new Aldi on Constitution Street. There’s over 70 artists who can’t wait to welcome you.