Mikael Eliaeson, Product Manager at Drayton, discusses the latest developments in smart heating, with new systems allowing for personalised room temperature control and multi-zoning of properties.
Sales of smart home products have surged in the last few years, with a third of UK homes now boasting connected products. Home automation is now more commonplace than ever, with homeowners ‘going smart’ for a variety of reasons – including enhanced convenience, greater home comfort, and energy savings.
A recent study showed that, of the UK adults who currently use smart home heating solutions, 47% have improved their comfort at home, 46% have reduced their heating costs, 23% have improved their wellbeing and 19% have been able to reduce damp in their home. Personalised room control is also achievable, and users have the ability to set bespoke temperatures in individual rooms of a house, all from the palm of their hand.
So, what do installers need to know about this next generation of smart heating systems, and how can they capitalise on recommending them to customers?
Multi-zoning
Multi-zoned heating controls are designed to work alongside a property’s existing system with no need to alter pipework or valves. This means that they can be easily installed into any home, regardless of age or size.
There are kits available that feature a UK standard wallplate, so there’s no need for re-wiring or re-plumbing. What’s more, smart radiator thermostats can often be retrofitted onto existing radiators in seconds allowing for quick and easy zoned heating. Buildable kits allow users to expand their system over time, adding additional radiator thermostats as required.
“With features such as Eco Mode and OpenTherm, smart heating systems are now able to learn from a home, automatically adjusting according to factors like the weather. Systems can monitor these environmental changes to learn how long a property takes to react to temperature changes and adjusts accordingly, ensuring that energy isn’t wasted.”
User benefits
Multi-zoned heating controls offer an effective way to manage temperature across a home with ease. After all, you wouldn’t use one switch to control all the lighting in your home, so why would you do the same for heating?
For example, if you’re cold in bed, you can remotely switch the heating on just in the room you are occupying, all without having to get out of bed or waste energy heating the whole house. As each room’s temperature can be independent, it means it can be set to meet specific needs, such as a baby’s room, which can be kept at the recommended 18°C.
Some systems allow for multiple users, allowing homeowners to not only control the heating in their own home, but the heating in the home of, for example an elderly relative, even from a significant distance away.
Hands-free control is available with some systems, working alongside voice control systems like Amazon Alexa to give homeowners the option to alter the temperature verbally without the need for a smartphone.
Energy saving
Around 80% of domestic energy consumption is used on space and water heating, that’s more than quadruple the amount spent on lights, tumble dryers, washing machines, cookers, and televisions put together. Being able to react quickly and amend heating settings when circumstances change can allow users to reduce energy bills, and a smart multi-zone system is estimated to save 20% over a smart thermostat system alone.
With features such as Eco Mode and OpenTherm, smart heating systems are now able to learn from a home, automatically adjusting according to factors like the weather. Systems can monitor these environmental changes to learn how long a property takes to react to temperature changes and adjusts accordingly, ensuring that energy isn’t wasted.
This allows users to simply set their desired temperature and let the technology do the rest, eliminating the need for complicated settings while conserving energy.
With the many benefits offered by smart heating systems, and products becoming more affordable, consumer demand for these devices is only going to increase. So, it pays for installers to be clued up on smart multi-zoning to broaden their service offering and maximise business opportunities.
Wise up
As technology evolves, products are becoming easier to use and also quick and simple to install. With this in mind, Drayton has developed a new multi-zone heating system.
Wiser allows for flexible ‘heating zones’ in up to 16 rooms of a home, using the Wiser Heat app downloadable on both Android and iOS devices. What’s more, the system is also compatible with internet connected voice control systems such as Amazon Alexa.
Wiser boasts smart radiator thermostats that can be fitted onto existing radiators, and valve adaptors make installation quick and easy. The simple ‘boost turn’ is an innovative part of the product design, enabling a room to be made warmer or cooler, by two degrees, either from the individual radiator thermostat or via the app.
To find out more about Drayton’s range of products, visit: www.wiser.draytoncontrols.co.uk/
