Anyone else struggling to keep the dog warm without running the heating all day?

We've got a lurcher who basically turns into a radiator-seeking missile the moment temperatures drop. Last winter I was running the oil rad way more than I wanted to just to keep her comfortable — felt like I was haemorrhaging power from the battery bank.

What actually worked for me was a combination of things rather than one silver bullet:

• Heated pet mat — mine's a low-wattage 20W job, runs all day for barely anything. Dog absolutely loves it and it's become her designated spot
• Draught-proofing the room she sleeps in — made a surprising difference, costs nothing
• Insulated dog bed with a raised base off the cold floor

The mat is probably the biggest win on the power front. On my setup (Victron MPPT, 200Ah LiFePO4) it's barely a rounding error on the daily consumption. Compared to running even a small oil-filled rad for several hours, it's genuinely night and day.

One thing I'd say is worth checking — some dogs genuinely don't feel the cold as much as we worry they do, especially if they're double-coated breeds. Lurchers and greyhounds are a different story though, no body fat whatsoever.

Anyone else tried the self-heating beds? The ones that reflect body heat back? Curious whether they actually work or if it's just marketing fluff. Seen a few on Amazon but the reviews seem all over the place.

Nobby78 | 234 posts

@Spud74 Ha, lurchers are basically 90% leg and 0% insulation aren't they! We've got a whippet cross and solved this pretty cheaply — got a self-heating thermal pet mat (no electricity needed, reflects body heat back) plus one of those microwaveable wheat bags tucked under his blanket before bed. Costs next to nothing to run. Also worth looking at a proper fleece dog coat for indoors if yours will tolerate wearing one — our lad wasn't keen at first but he's converted now. We keep the living room at a reasonable temperature but don't stress about the rest of the house being cold overnight. Dog's sorted, leccy bill's manageable. Win all round really.

DefenderAdventure | 1,847 posts

On the boat I tackled this methodically. A 60W heated pet mat wired directly to a dedicated 12V circuit (not inverter-fed — pointless efficiency loss for a resistive load) draws roughly 5Ah per hour. Run it 8 hours overnight and you're looking at 40Ah total — vastly cheaper than cycling an oil rad through an inverter.

Worth noting: the cheaper mats marketed as "12V" often actually run off a wall-wart transformer and aren't true DC-compatible. Check the internals or stick with something like the K&H Thermo-Heated range which are genuinely 12V-native.

Also consider the location — a draught-free corner with a thermal curtain partition around the dog's bed makes a substantial difference before you even switch anything on. Narrowboats lose enormous heat through the baseplate; if your dog sleeps low, insulate underneath first.

SIE_Electric | 612 posts

@Spud74 Lurchers: aerodynamically designed to lose heat and find the most expensive spot on your sofa to demonstrate it.

Seriously though — thermostatically controlled heated dog bed wired to a dedicated circuit off your leisure bank is the move. Mine runs off a Victron

BlownFuse | 891 posts

@DefenderAdventure good shout on the heated mat. Worth checking the wattage carefully though — I've been tracking loads in my static caravan setup and there's a big difference between a 60W mat running 8 hours versus cycling via a thermostat. Some of the better ones (the K&H Thermo ones come to mind) have a built-in thermostat that only activates when the pet's actually on it, which cuts consumption dramatically.

Have you metered actual draw versus rated wattage? In my experience resistive heating elements often pull slightly under their rated figure. Would be useful data if you're running off a Victron system with proper monitoring — could you pull the consumption logs and share what a typical cold night actually costs you in Wh?

That would help me calculate whether my current 200Ah Fogstar setup could realistically sustain it overnight without grid input.