Adjust your central heating from anywhere using your smartphone
British Gas have announced an awesome new system which allows you to manage your central heating from anywhere in the world using your smartphone or computer.
The Remote Heating Control™ system works by connecting your boiler and thermostat to your existing home broadband connection, with the free apps allowing you to monitor and change heating controls as you see fit.
Not only can the system undertake basic functions like adjusting the thermostat remotely on-the-fly, you can also use it to create and amend schedules so that your heating system works to fit your needs better. You can also adjust existing schedules to allow for times where you’re unexpectedly caught out.
Home automation systems like this have been around for a while now, but most have been pioneered by third party companies, and the technology has only really moved forward thanks to a small network of DIY enthusiasts. British Gas are, to my knowledge, the first UK provider to offer such a service, and you don’t even need to be a British Gas customer in order to take advantage of the system.
The boys at BG will quite happily upgrade your existing central heating system in order to make use of the new technology, albeit at a cost. The installation involves a home visit to ensure suitability and quote, followed by installation of a modern wireless thermostat and receiver on your boiler. They’ll even set up your online account and give you a running demonstration of some of the features.
To be honest, with home energy costs increasing this seems like a sound investment to me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been away for the weekend and realised that I’ve left the heating on full. Not only have I come home to a boiling hot house, but I’ve also wasted a tonne of money heating up an empty building.
I’m clearly not the only person who thinks this is a good idea, Stuff Magazine recently announced the RHC system as Stuff Home Gadget of the year, beating off competition from Dyson, Belkin, iRobot, Philips and Krups. Will Findlater, editor of Stuff Magazine, had the following to say:
“We felt British Gas Remote Heating Control™ deserved to win our Home Gadget of the Year award, not just because of how useful it is but also because of the movement it’s representing towards connected homes and smart appliances.”
I’d tend to agree with Will’s statement; it’s nice to see a household name like British Gas offering a modern system like this to ordinary consumers. British Gas are quick to point out some of the cases where customers have seen real world benefit to this kind of system. Their Facebook page features blogs from actual customers who give their opinions on how the system has worked for them. Incidentally, you can also use the Facebook page to enter BG’s competition for a full RHC system plus £100 in cinema vouchers.
It’s definitely worth a go, seeing as the actual price of the upgrade is something that British Gas don’t publicise freely, which is usually a bad sign.
This is a sponsored post on behalf of British Gas