Perhaps in response to one of the worst summers in UK living memory, British Gas has chosen this week to launch it remote-controlled heating service.

The service, which will be open to all British Gas customers, will allow users to turn their central heating off and on remotely via a laptop, mobile phone, smartphone or iPad.

According to British Gas, households that leave the boiler on while at work or away for the weekend spend an average £140 a year more on energy bills.

Remote heating control, which British Gas has developed with energy monitoring specialist AlertMe, allows the heating to be adjusted via a smartphone app, run according to a schedule on a PC or laptop, or turned off and on via a text message.

So instead of leaving the heating on when out at work or away, consumers could turn it off and send a quick message as they start their journey home to warm up the house just before they arrive, saving some of those costs arising from wasted energy.

“Remote heating control will give customers greater peace of mind by allowing them to schedule and adjust their heating on the go, so they only need to heat their home when they need to,” says Dean Keeling, managing director of British Gas’ smart homes division.

The remote heating system, which includes a wireless-enabled programmable thermostat and a home hub, costs £140 with a new central heating system or £199 to retrofit to existing customers’ heating systems (£229 for new customers).

For further information:
www.britishgas.co.uk/smarter-living/control-energy/smart-home-revolution.html

Related stories:
Energy efficiency drives 22% decline in gas use by British Gas customers (3-Feb 2011)
British Gas takes £5.7 million stake in AlertMe (8-Oct 2010)
British Gas New Energy and AlertMe.com joint forces on energy management (21-Jul 2009)

Article source: http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/5262/