Tech goes down the pan

And you think I’m joking. The Ideal Home Show proudly boasted an Ideal gadget section so I figured I’d go and check it out.

Proudly displayed was the loo that I’d expect to find in Japan that will wash dry and even massage your bits. Just think how long the queue for the ladies is going to be now.

 This hands free operation is going to save all that toilet paper but at what cost to your electric bill? How much extra water will it need to get you all neat. How wet would you get if you forgot to keep your legs together or you are mega skinny or a fidgety child. Funny I noticed how they were all neatly covered with perspex for demo purposes.

Then off to the ideal home of the future…how about the bath that you set to run on the way home ..yes nothing new I agree but the waterproof keyboard, champagne chiller and TV/PC could lead to some wrinkles before you climb out.

Now this one does appeal – the infra red radiator, with increasing energy bills let’s all do the sensible thing and just heat us up and not the air in our homes. This certainly appealed to me as I’ve come across it in convention centres and it is used in factories but it was the first time I had spotted it for a domestic home.

I have one room in the house that to get warm I have to get all the other rooms in the house like a sauna temperature.  Admittedly it is the biggest room but I’ve done all the thing you are supposed to such as cavity wall, loft insulation, double glazing and still this room thinks it was built be a be a fridge.

How about an installation of infra red radiators in there just heat me, save a fortune waiting to the air to heat up. It works outside with the infra-red heater over the patio area so this does seem a good idea.

I did a quick review of this on the web and suggested savings from one person was 55% of their heating bills. In addition you get a range of incredibly stylish radiators that can look like a mirror, a picture etc.

Now how to afford the increasing electricity bill for gadget fiends?  

Well I have installed solar lights in the garden and on the side of the garage and they do work well. Not to mention I never have to worry about electrocuting myself if I get too enthusiastic digging in the garden.

All over the Ideal Home Dhow there are many companies pushing solar power. Yes those giant solar panels that you get installed on the roof of your property. Then in the UK if you pay for them you get the government’s feed in tariff.  If you don’t pay companies are offering to install them and you just get the free electric and they take the feed in tariff that is due to pay for the next 25 years. In addition if you are a low user then you get paid for the electricity that you return to the grid.

But do they really work in the UK…now that is one interesting idea and hopefully we can give you the real deal behind what seemed by some companies to be heavy sales techniques at the show. Many refused to give a website and would only offer to take your details. I spoke to a company that did not have me immediately wishing to move quickly and was happy to explain rather than just collect details.

There was of course the paper that you can write on and send to your computer to go online and do your shopping for you. That said you have to buy the right paper and use the right pen. I’ll hold out for the pen that can do it all in one no special paper needed. The idea of you writing a list and it automatically goes to the online shop for you while terribly lazy has a worrying way to increase the profits for those big four supermarkets. Just imagine that it is not set up and every time you add an item to the shopping list the little van turns up and it has cost you another charge for just one delivery.

There is the usual collection of wooden buildings, double glazing companies, mop companies and the three million ways to prepare a vegetable as if we all starve till we get there and get the latest kitchen gadget or saucepan. There was a handy way to slide plugs along a channel so you can always have a socket where you need one on the wall, a desk that could fold into a bed from Study Bed and a neat Hot and Cold water filter from T6 but not much else, and these weren’t even in the gadget section.

Does the Ideal Home Ideal Gadget section blow me away with tech- in short no!

I’m looking for home automation and I saw just the one stand. I’m looking for gadgets not a vegetable peeler.