Holiday home owners who embrace new mobile technology can save on heating bills

Last Updated on September 25, 2014 by admin

How holiday home owners who embrace new mobile technology can save on heating bills

As a nation we’ve embraced technology more than most; one in four of us now own a tablet, an item that was not in existence just four years ago!

We even spend more time on technology than we do asleep; recent research from the BBC shows the average UK adult will spend 8 hours 41 minutes in front of some sort of tech!

So what does it all mean for holiday home owners?

A key area of progression and development has been technology that controls the heating of our homes and holiday homes. UK energy consumption has actually fallen by 22% since 2001, with heat control systems contributing in part to that drop. We explore how holiday home owners who embrace new mobile technology can have more control and save on heating bills.

How much can be saved on your heating bills?

Heating is a key expense for holiday home owners and one that impacts directly on the bottom line, particularly during the winter months.

The installation of thermostats and thermostatic radiator valves can save up to £150 per year. Turning down the heat on the thermostat you’ve installed by one degree can lead to a saving of another £75 over that year!

Different ways to save on your holiday home heating bills

There are several different ways in which you can reduce the heating costs of your holiday home but all have one thing in common; reducing wastage.

Wasting heat can come in many different ways;

• Heating the entire property excessively when only key areas are being used by guests
• Maintaining excessive heat throughout the day when visitors are outside enjoying what your local area has to offer.
• Sporadic occupancy during winter months, where the heating is left at the same level.

How is mobile solving the problem?

Most holiday home owners will already be familiar with thermostats, which can be the answer to the first two issues we’ve mentioned. There is however one nagging issue with the common thermostat.

It is literally hands-on, which for holiday homeowners living away from their property makes it increasingly problematic.

With occupancy more sporadic during the winter season what happens if you have one week occupied, another empty and the following occupied again?

Do you head down to your property and turn the heating down, only to return again in order to turn it up again?

The answer in all likelihood is no, and the result will be wasted heat and unnecessarily increased bills.

Mobile heating control technology is becoming more and more readily available, allowing you to control temperatures and zones of your holiday home remotely, putting you in control from wherever you are. In some cases these can be introduced to your existing heating systems and allow you to control your heating remotely from an App.

This market is becoming increasingly competitive; Google purchased the Nest heating control system for $3.2bn and subsequently hit the UK market, whilst other big names include Hive Active Heating (owned by British Gas) and Tado (the German market leader in this technology) are all now readily available to holiday homeowners.

With competition will come competitive pricing, meaning real savings can be made by holiday homeowners looking to adopt mobile technology for their property.

As with most technology, as time goes by it needn’t cost the earth to purchase and install. We suggest taking a look at all of the market options to find the best possible fit for your holiday home.

What do you need to do from an insurance angle?

One of the most frequent holiday home insurance claims is escape of water damage as a result of frozen pipes or cold weather. In any event you’ll want to ensure that the temperature throughout your property is sufficient to prevent pipes from freezing and are also maintained a a level to meet any conditions specified in your insurance policy wording. Our specialist holiday home insurance policy aims to highlight these potential issues for holiday homeowners and states that you’ll need to keep the temperature of your holiday home above 7c throughout during October to March, or ensure that the water is turned off at the stopcock and the heating system is drained when not in use.

These measures will minimise the risk of potential damage to your home.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.