IKEA has a smart thermostatic head for a steal! It even supports Matter

Smart heating control has long been more the domain of more expensive brands like Netatmo or tado. IKEA is now entering this category in its own way – affordably and directly with Matter standard support. The new IKEA LILJEBAGGE is a thermostatic head that you attach to a radiator valve, and then control the temperature in individual rooms from both the display and your phone. In Sweden, it costs 199 Swedish kronor, which is approximately 430 Czech crowns.

How does IKEA LILJEBAGGE work?

The head screws onto the radiator valve, replacing a classic manual thermostatic head. It works exclusively with water heating – meaning with standard radiators connected to central or boiler heating, not with electric heaters. The manufacturer includes six adapters and five mounting cards in the package to ensure the head fits most common valves.

You can set the temperature directly on the display or remotely via the app. In the app, you can also plan individual scenes – for example, automatically lowering the heating at night and warming up the bedroom in the morning. Each room is controlled independently, so the bedroom can be cooler than the living room. Power is provided by two AA batteries, which are not included in the package. Additionally, the head rotates itself once every fourteen days to prevent limescale buildup in the valve, and in anti-freeze mode, it releases a little heat into the pipes to prevent them from bursting in freezing temperatures.

What does Matter support entail?

LILJEBAGGE is built on the open standard Matter, specifically the Matter over Thread variant. Because of this, you also need a so-called Thread Border Router for phone control – at IKEA, the DIRIGERA home hub fulfills this role. Through Matter, you can then integrate the head into smart homes built on platforms from Amazon, Apple, Google, Homey, or Samsung, so you’re not tied solely to the IKEA app.

It’s nice that, according to the manufacturer, it works even without an internet connection. If the network goes down, the head maintains the last set temperature, and you can manually adjust it directly on its display – you just can’t control it from your phone at that moment.

The price is set very favorably

In Sweden, the LILJEBAGGE is priced at 199 Swedish kronor, which is approximately 430 Czech crowns. For smart thermostatic heads, this is very low – competing units commonly cost around a thousand crowns each. This low price aligns with IKEA’s long-term strategy of bringing Matter to the most affordable devices possible. When the head will arrive in the Czech Republic is not yet clear.

Would you install IKEA smart heads on your radiators?

Sources: IKEA