Ever thought about using a smartphone to control your central heating?

A number of systems are now on sale that promise big savings.

One being launched claims it can save you as much as £400 a year on your energy bill.

Certainly the internet giant Google seems to have recognised the potential for the technology, having just snapped up the US manufacturer Nest for about £2bn.

All these systems work by maximising the time your heating is switched off. And switching it on only when you need it.

Many of these devices are far more sophisticated than simply switching your heating off and on remotely.

Using GPS technology, phones now know exactly where you are, and using that knowledge, systems can anticipate when you are likely to get home.

It will even take account of the local weather forecast, and adjust itself according to expected temperatures.

Think of the times of day that rooms are heated unnecessarily in your home.

Is the heat blasting out in your sitting room at six in the morning, when no-one will actually sit in there until six in the evening?

Is your bedroom cosy and warm at 19:00, just when you are in the kitchen having dinner?

For around £850 for a three-bedroom house, you can install a system that will allow you to heat each room individually.

Using your smartphone, or a central control panel, you can work out temperature profiles for every room in the house, and of course adjust them from anywhere in the world, providing there is an internet signal.

Honeywell, which makes the hardware in Scotland, claims you can save up to £400 a year on your energy bill by "zoning" your home in this way.

And it says the system should pay for itself in two or three years.

The Energy Saving Trust, is enthusiastic about the whole concept, but warns that those in small flats will probably see little benefit.

Eight million people in the UK do not yet have a basic room thermostat, for example, which can save £65 a year alone. Among other money-saving measures

• Taking electrical items off stand-by: saves up to £70
• Turning thermostat down by 1 degree: saves £65

Your lifestyle too will make a difference. Those without children, or who come home at unpredictable times, may have a greater potential to make savings than others.

 

British Gas has already launched its service, known as Hive, which claims to save customers up to £150 a year.

Scottish Power and Honeywell are due to launch their systems later this month.

watch this space and if we install one in our own homes - Thinking about it - we will give you cost saving updates from a real situation...