23 Jun 2016

CASE STUDY – Remote Heating App-A Customer’s Viewpoint

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Smart Heating thermostatic controllers are becoming increasingly popular; using a phone to control your heating gives greater flexibility, the benefits of which are invaluable to many.

We recently installed a smart thermostatic heating control for one of our customers in Thatcham and thought we would share her thoughts with you.

A HOME OWNER’S EXPERIENCE OF THE DRAYTON MiGenie SMART CONTROLLER

What made you consider getting a remote heating controller installed & what had you heard previously about the advantages of managing your heating remotely?
I heard I could control the heating better when I am away from house.  This is especially important in winter when I don’t want the house to be freezing when I get home. But on the other hand I don’t want to waste money on the heating being on when I am away.

Does the Genie allow you more flexibility?
Although I don’t work, I am often away and can now use the app to programme the heating for my return.

Do you think the controller is saving you money?
I am saving money compared to the traditional programmer because my previous programmer, the typical one you use in the airing cupboard, is basically an automatic timer, it doesn’t allow for irregular use. The Genie is more flexible.

Do you find the controller easy to use?
Yes, you can control the heating from the wall ‘stat which came with the Genie if you want but to use the remote app properly you need to have a smart phone or tablet available to download for the app. As long as you’re used to using these, you should have no problem working out the Mi-Genie system and setting it up.

How much flexibility is there in the scheduling for your heating now?
Lots, I can schedule it very specifically, every day can be different and I can be specific about the temperature each time. In the morning I’ll have it at a lower temperature than the evenings. Hot water can be programmed separately and can be completely different timing from the heating because in summer I only need hot water in shorter bursts, a completely different schedule to the heating.

Do you have a favourite feature?
It has a clever holiday mode – I set my leave and return time and set it to switch off for the duration of the holiday, then once it reaches the ‘return’ time I’ve specified, it automatically picks up my usual schedule and everything comes back on as usual.

Has this helped you to understand your energy consumption better?
Completely.  My Genie thermostat in the hall, which it came with, seems to give a very accurate read out of the current temperature which helps me a lot compared to my old turn it up/down thermostat.

So would you say there were any drawbacks to switching to a Smart Controller?
The downside is that I haven’t learned yet how to quickly turn the heating or hot water off! Maybe that is just me! Also, I like to have the app on my phone and iPad – one registration works for both devices simultaneously.  However, I’ve found a few times when the system doesn’t respond to the instruction I’ve given it, eg. switching it back to ‘automatic’ mode after it’s been off.  For some reason, it sometimes automatically reverts back to ‘Off’.  I’m not sure why this is, but this is a small grumble as the system usually works fine and I think is a definite improvement to the previous thermostat and programmer.  I can’t think of any other drawbacks to using a Smart Controller and there are certainly plenty of plus points to make it a worthwhile investment.

Ms W, Thatcham

If you would like to know more about installing a Smart Thermostat to your home, then give me a call and I would be happy to chat to you, and see if this would be right for your home or work premises. We fit a miGenie which will control both your heating and hot water system for about £200. You can also look at adding additional room thermostats which will enable you to heat different areas of the building at different times, especially valuable in a larger premises.

If you want to know more about the miGenie, please give me a call on 01635 863336.

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