The rise of smart thermostats as an energy saving device

Recently released statistics showed that the annual dual-fuel bill for UK households is now around £1,250 and so there is a lot of talk at the moment of how to cut costs and how to make it easier for energy consumers to switch providers and save money. Manufacturers in the heating industry however, have been producing increasingly efficient products for a number of years with the most popular one being the smart thermostat. The smart thermostat has been brought to market as a solution to the huge problem of energy wasted by unnecessary heating of empty homes. During winter, many people who simply want their houses to be warm when they return from work, or because they are unable to use their programmable timers, leave their heating on when they are out and, as a result, end up with avoidably large heating bills. There are two types of smart thermostat available that provide solutions to different types of lifestyle. The first is the ‘learning’ smart thermostat which effectively analyses your behaviour, your favoured temperatures and when you are most active. It will then come up with a weekly schedule to suit what it has learned about you and your family. The second type is a geolocation smart thermostat which uses the location of your phone to detect when you are in or out of the house and sets the heating accordingly. Another important feature of smart thermostats is they are not limited to running your heating at either full power or not at all. They have the ability to run at less than full power (e.g. at 50% or 75% of capacity) which makes a massive difference in the amount of energy that is used to heat a house. Many smart thermostats also collect information about the boiler, meaning if there’s an issue, the manufacturer will know what the problem is even before an engineer comes out to fix it. It’s been estimated that installing a smart thermostat can result in annual savings of 10-30% or your gas and electricity bill. Using the average annual bill of £1,250, that equates to monetary savings of between £125 - £375 per year. If used in conjunction with other smart controls (e.g. controlling the hot water), savings have the potential to be even greater and even more customised to your needs. Article by Benjamin Clarke RELATED ARTICLES • A small investment in modern heating controls can be a long term money saver 30th Apr 2015  • The heating industry needs to embrace the smart control revolution 5th Mar 2015  • How to maximise your heating system's energy efficiency 23rd Dec 2014   

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