For many of us, one of the biggest household bills is for our Heating.  We constantly check deals and look for more cost-effective ways to do it.  But what if there was a way to make our very homes more efficient and therefore save money on bills?  The answer is actually already here in the form of remote heating systems or ‘smart’ thermostats.

What is a smart thermostat?

Smart thermostat or remote heating is a way to control your heating and hot water remotely through an app that is on your smartphone or a desktop app.  It means you can make sure the house is nice and warm just before you come home from work while keeping a lower temperature while no-one is home.

But the difference from normal thermostats, which can also be programmed, is that you can access and amend them remotely.  Say you are finishing work early – you can use the app to access your heating system and set it to warm up early.  Or maybe one of the kids isn’t well and you are collecting them from school – your app can dial up the heating, so their bedroom is comfortable and warm.

Smart thermostats are also different to smart meters.  Smart meters are a way to send meter readings and energy use information straight to your supplier without the need to manually submit information.  These don’t play a part in controlling your heating system.

Hive smart thermostat

One of the most well known of the smart thermostats is called Hive and you can easily look to get one from British Gas.  All you have to do is get in touch with British Gas and they can give you a quote for the system, install it and even offer monthly payments so you don’t need to pay for it in one go.  You can also contact other companies on their direct numbers such as the EDF contact number if they are your supplier to see if they have a smart thermostat offer.

So, what makes Hive so attractive?

Easy installation

For starters, the system is easy to install, and a British Gas engineer will have it installed and running in less than two hours in most cases.  The company doesn’t charge a call out charge to come and fit the system and you can order the whole unit from them or buy it yourself and simply use the code from the box to arrange an engineer’s visit to install the components.

The system uses the heating in your home so there’s no need to get a new boiler or anything.  Hive has three components – one that is attached to the boiler, one that is a thermostat unit that you place in a special location in the home and a third small box that connects the system to the internet and needs plugging into the mains.  If you have a separate hot water tank, this can also be adapted to operate this as well.

Complete control

The Hive app is free to download and can be operated on smartphones, laptops or tablets.  This allows you complete control of your heating system and hot water in the same way you can order a program from Netflix or access your Sky Q box.

You can set the Hive to run on schedules with different temperatures for different times of the day.  You can use a maximum of six slots a day and can change these each day if you want –  so if Sunday is your day off, you can have a constant temperature while working days can have a schedule that adapts to your working pattern.

There is also the ‘boost’ button which is ideal if you want a short boost at a higher temperature.  You can boost from 30 minutes to six hours and set a temperature for the boost only.  So, if you wake up early and it is cold, you can put on a boost to raise the temperature to a better level.

You can also use the system to ensure you protect your home against frost during the winter by making certain it doesn’t drop below a certain temperature.  The system has a built-in frost protection system as well that will automatically start if the home is below 7 degrees although you can also set this to a higher number if you want.

Saving money

According to British Gas, you can save up to £130 a year on your energy bills by using a smart thermostat such as Hive.  This is because you will use your heating in a much more efficient way.  You can control it from your device and adjust it according to your life patterns easily.  This makes your heating more efficient and saves your money on your bills.

Other smart heating systems

There are also a number of other similar systems available on the market that you can purchase and have someone install for you.  These include Nest and Netatmo, which feature similar benefits to Hive from British Gas.

In addition to controlling your thermostat and saving money on your heating bills, you can also use Hive to control other smart features around your home.  There is a range of accessories available including smart lighting and smart plugs.  These allow you to control devices connected to them from your smartphone app and saves money by allowing you to turn off lights remotely, switch the kettle on when you are coming downstairs and a number of other advantages.

Open to all

Hive is available to anyone, not just British Gas customers but if you are a customer of the company, you can get it at a reduced rate, currently £149 including installation.  This saves you £50 on the upfront cost.  You can also spread the cost if you don’t want to pay for it in one go.  You can contact British Gas at any time to get a quote and find out more about the benefits of your home of the Hive smart thermostat system.

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