Many homeowners are looking for more efficient ways to heat their homes to make cost savings. Therefore, they are looking towards installers for reliable advice on how to remain comfortable at home without overspending. Jeremy Palmer, General Manager at Drayton, highlights key guidance that installers can share with customers to ensure they are getting the most out of their smart heating controls.
According to recent data collected by the Office of National Statistics, 49% of adults who pay energy bills are finding it very or somewhat difficult to afford them. Given this information it’s clear that homeowners are looking for ways to reduce the amount they are paying towards bills whilst keeping their homes adequately heated.
The good news is that the increasing advancement in smart technology means homeowners can run their heating more efficiently than ever before, by way of intuitive controls. Such is the impact of using smart home heating controls that BEAMA reports over 30% of energy can be saved by upgrading from basic heating controls to a smart multi-zone heating system.
As the uptake of such devices increases, given their efficiencies, it’s important for installers to be well-versed in the opportunities these systems can provide their customers in terms of savings. Here are some things to consider when informing homeowners on how to use smart home heating controls.
Encouraging scheduling
Scheduling is a tried and tested way of reducing the costs of running the home’s heating system. The addition of a smart home heating system in conjunction with a heating control app, such as the Wiser Home App, enables the user to heat the home to a set schedule in accordance with the resident’s preferences.
For example, someone who splits their time between working from home and the office, can schedule their heating to come on in certain rooms on the days they work from home and can schedule it to come on half an hour before they are due home from a day in the office.
Not only does this offer maximum convenience for the user, but it also ensures that they can set up a schedule that reduces the risk of energy waste and the unnecessary costs associated with this. Additionally, with a smart control like Wiser, if there are any unexpected change in plans, users can easily adjust the schedule via the app from anywhere at any time.
Using multi-zone controls
Encouraging customers to make use of multi-zoning functions can be a significant help when it comes to driving energy costs down. Without the use of smart thermostats, it can be difficult to regulate temperatures across an entire living space, which means many homeowners find themselves heating the whole home to a single temperature which can be wasteful, should some of the rooms be unused.
A multi-zone enabled heating control system like Wiser allows heating to be adjusted from room-to-room. For example, a spare room can be programmed to a specific set temperature until visitors come to stay. Alternatively, users can ensure their baby’s room is set to a cooler temperature than other more frequently used rooms in the house, such as the lounge.
Not only does this ensure that all residents can gain maximum comfort in the space they are using, but it can also result in a long-term cost saving.
Switching on Smart Modes
Smart modes are another way for customers to efficiently manage their heating costs. For example, Wiser’s Eco Mode learns about the home’s thermal properties and can respond to external temperature changes, turning the boiler off sooner to save on energy use, whilst keeping the home at the desired temperature.
Other modes, such as Away Mode, can reduce set points throughout the home when the homeowner leaves their property for a short or long period of time. In Wiser’s case, this can be activated from the Wiser Home App or via IFTTT, which triggers an automation when the homeowner leaves their home using geofencing technology.
These handy modes mean energy waste is significantly reduced and money can be saved. In fact, Wiser’s Smart Modes were found to save UK households 16% in energy usage in a recent Schneider Electric study.
Insights and Reports
Many customers will be keen to see detailed overviews to understand how they can use their heating more efficiently and learn from their current usage. This kind of information is incredibly valuable to users who are looking to make savings.
The Wiser Home app provides both Insights, which help users to generate an understanding of how they can save on energy, and a heating report, which is useful to determine that their heating system is working in the right way. Tracking internal and external temperatures and setpoints enables the user to build an understanding of what changes could be made to heating schedules to conserve energy.
Furthermore, Insights+ is available to customers by connecting Wiser to a smart meter. This feature can learn from the data stored in insights and reports as well as real time data from the smart meter to offer personalised advice on where to make key savings, while forecasting future energy usage to ensure homeowners can budget accordingly
As the popularity of smart home technology develops, and as customers require more automation in line with other elements of their lives, smart heating systems will become more sought after. Making use of this information offers homeowners the added benefit of being able to manage their energy use more efficiently as the cost-of-living impacts a significant number of households.
With the affordability of energy bills front of mind for many, it is essential that heating engineers are supporting their customers with the right tools and advice to learn more about how smart systems can reduce their monthly outgoings, and the many features that can be used to gain a better understanding of how their heating can be used in the most efficient way.
