Those who try to make it cosy and warm in their own homes during winter often get a chill down their spines when they see the heating bill. No one wants to freeze at home, but burning money is no fun either. Intelligent heating controls, which can “think”, can provide pleasant warm rooms as well as noticeably lower heating costs — depending on the living area up to several hundred euro per year.
Pleasant warmth, without having the heating on all the time
The smart systems detect when the last resident leaves the house and lower the temperature automatically. But you do not have to fear cold rooms on your return. If someone unexpectedly comes home earlier, they can conveniently control the heating while travelling via a smartphone app. Time profiles can also be set up. They ensure that, for example, in the morning it is snug and warm in the bathroom without the heating having been on all night. All of this saves energy and reduces the stress on the budget, as well as the environment. And best of all: The necessary smart thermostats can be easily installed on existing heaters.
A quick look at three smart retrofit systems
- Homematic IP: This smart home system controls up to 80 components in a maximum of 20 rooms. The compulsory wireless central unit, which is connected to the wireless router, makes a difference at around 50 euro, a smart heating thermostat at around 40 euro. It is also available together with a window contact as an “indoor climate starter set” for nearly 120 euro. The window contact detects, for example, if the window is open and then automatically shuts off the heater.
- Fritzbox: If you have a Fritzbox router with integrated DECT phone exchange, you do not need a separate smart home control centre. Heating thermostats from third party suppliers are available for the Fritzbox. The Fritzbox manufacturer AVM now also supplies a thermostat: the Fritz DECT 300 for 59 euro. It can be directly programmed individually via the router menu, or controlled out and about via an app.
- Heating control via SMS: The EB BPT32GST, a wireless thermostat with GSM module, works well even without a smart home control centre. The user can easily adjust the temperature via SMS message, there are also several weekly programs that can be set. The device costs approx. 200 euro.
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