How Smart Thermostats Can Help Reduce Wasted Heating

With energy prices remaining a significant household expense in Scunthorpe, reducing wasted heating matters. Adjusting heating schedules and temperatures to suit your routine can help reduce unnecessary heating. Read the Energy Saving Trust guidance on heating controls. A smart internet-enabled room thermostat can help by making schedules, temperatures and boiler control easier to manage.

What is a Smart Thermostat?

Traditional thermostats turn your boiler on when the room temperature drops below a set point and off when it is reached. Smart internet-enabled room thermostats connect to your home Wi-Fi network, so you can control heating through an app, tablet or compatible voice assistant. The real value comes when the controls are set up around how the home is used, rather than simply replacing one thermostat with another.

Features That Can Reduce Waste

• Schedules and app control: Easier control helps you avoid heating an empty home or leaving the heating on longer than needed.
• Geofencing: Some systems can use phone location to help reduce heating when the house is empty. This depends on the product, phone settings and how the household uses it.
• Weather compensation and optimum start: Compatible systems can adjust heating timing or output based on outside conditions and how quickly the home warms up.
• OpenTherm where supported: If the boiler and control are compatible, OpenTherm can help the boiler modulate instead of simple on/off firing, which can improve comfort and efficiency.
• Zoning and smart TRVs: Room-by-room control can help reduce heat going into unused spaces, provided the system is designed and balanced correctly.

Compliance with Boiler Plus Legislation

Boiler Plus requirements apply to new combi boiler installations and mean suitable time and temperature controls, plus an additional energy-saving measure, must be considered. The correct control choice depends on the boiler, wiring, home layout and customer preference.

At Nimbus Boilers, Heat Pumps & Renewables, we include a smart internet-enabled room thermostat as standard with new boiler installation packages where suitable. We set it up and explain how to use it, so the controls support the way you actually heat your home.