For many, managing central heating involves a basic timer combined with a thermostat, allowing you to set your preferred temperature for the entire house. However, while these systems are convenient, they come with limitations.

The main downside? You're paying to heat rooms you’re not using, and the heating might be running when you’re not even at home. Though these simple controls have their place, they can feel somewhat inefficient, leading to wasted energy, higher bills, and an unnecessary impact on the environment.

What Are the Options?

If you’re looking to move beyond a basic timer and thermostat, there are two main options to help you take control of your home’s heating: standalone smart heating controls and smart radiator valves. These two solutions often work best when combined.

Smart thermostats, like those from Nest, Hive, Tado, and Genius Hub, are popular options that replace your existing system. They allow you to monitor and control your home’s temperature remotely via an app on your phone, providing better flexibility than traditional systems.

However, there’s still a limitation with basic smart thermostats - they only allow you to set one temperature for your entire home. This means that rooms you’re not using will still be heated, wasting energy and money.

But, thanks to technological advancements, it’s now easier than ever to gain more precise control over your home’s heating, without even needing to upgrade your boiler - though that’s often worth considering.

Taking Control of Each Room

To address the issue of controlling the temperature in individual rooms, you can add smart radiator valves to the mix. These valves attach to your existing thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) — the ones with numbered dials that you manually adjust for the desired temperature. No need for fancy modern radiators; smart radiator valves work with any standard radiator.

By combining a smart thermostat with smart radiator valves, you gain the ability to set specific temperatures for each room. Whether you prefer controlling them via an app or a home display screen, these smart devices give you the flexibility to manage your heating more efficiently.

Today’s smart heating systems are more advanced than ever. Many can now be controlled through voice commands via Alexa, Siri, or Google. Some systems, like Tado, even use geofencing to detect when no one is home, automatically turning off the heating and switching it back on when someone returns.

If you’re considering investing in a smart thermostat or thermostatic radiator valves, Trusted Reviews has tested some of the top models on the market, offering recommendations based on ease of installation, price, and functionality.

Maximising Savings

The real advantage of smart heating controls lies in the savings they can bring. Not only do they help reduce energy consumption, but they also lower your carbon footprint. According to the Energy Saving Trust, by installing and using your heating controls effectively, you could save £110 per year!

While smart heating controls are definitely worth considering for better heating management and reduced bills, there’s a simpler step you can take to start saving: turning down your thermostat by just one degree. This small adjustment could cut your gas use by 10% - all without you even noticing!

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