Smart heating: How to ensure the right temperature at all times

Status: 02/11/2022| Reading time: 4 minutes

Smart living, smart heating

Smartes living: That means making everyday life more efficient, more comfortable and more individual – with a networked and controllable down to the smallest detail smart home system. Of course, the question of the right temperature and the smart heating system should not be missing.

Just the thought of it sounds pleasant: a heater that uses the current temperature to recognize when it is too cold in your room, that automatically and cost-effectively heats up to the desired temperature when you are on your way home, and that even has independent weather apps queries. With the right smart heating system, this is not a problem. In addition, the correct use of a smart system brings with it energy and thus cost savings.

Of course, a smart home also includes voice control: smart home thermostats can be, just like smart home bulbscontrol via smartphone via an app, voice input (e.g. Google Home, Amazon Echo and Apple HomeKit) is also possible.

Smart home heating: It’s that easy

You can program your smart thermostats according to your own ideas. Suppose you get up at 6:30 am every morning and you want your apartment to wake up to a specific temperature after you prefer it a little cooler at night. You then leave your apartment every morning and are in the office until late afternoon – and of course you want to save energy. The apartment should only be heated up to the desired temperature again shortly before they return home: With smart systems, such automatisms are easy to do and do not require any special technical skills.

Smart radiator thermostat vs. room thermostats

With smart radiator thermostats you have the choice between three different systems: On the one hand there is Smart thermostats*, which need a base station (a so-called bridge) via which they are connected to your home WLAN. A second option does not require such a base station because it is controlled via Bluetooth. This has the advantage of an extremely simple installation – however, these devices can only be combined with other devices to a limited extent and can only be upgraded to a limited extent. Both options are mounted directly on the radiator and are primarily suitable for apartments.

But there is also a slightly more complex option — namely that of Smart room thermostats*. These are primarily ideal for residents of houses and can act as the heart of the central heating control. They can also be connected to the boiler via radio – which of course requires access to the boiler. Smart room thermostats can function as central elements of sophisticated smart heating systems.

Smart radiator thermostat: e.g. via the Fritz!Box

You have one for your WiFi Fritz!Box-receiver in your apartment? Then he is AVM FRITZ!DECT 301* from the manufacturer AVM is an option for you. It is compatible with all common radiator systems and connects to almost all Fritz-Box models with a DECT base (the manufacturer lists the models 7312/7412 as an exception). This saves you having to purchase your own basic box.

For the Smart thermostat* from Bosch you need a separately available Smart home controller*, which serves as a base station. You can regulate and program the heating either on the thermostat itself or via your own app. The Bosch model can also be controlled via the Amazon voice service Alexa.

Apple Homekit thermostat: The Eve Thermo

Smart home users who want to do without a bridge when heating can, for example, Eve Thermo radiator thermostat* Grab that connects via Bluetooth. It can be controlled via Apple Homekit and Siri. iPhone, Ipad or iPod are required, the minimum requirement is iOS 11.2 and up.

What you should pay attention to when buying

First and foremost, you should make sure which connections you have. Do you need a sophisticated, expandable system – or is a smart thermostat with the most important functions enough for you? Do you value extras – like having your system automatically detect when you’re home and adjust the temperature accordingly? Do you live in a house where you also have access to the boiler – or do you have an apartment? Would you like a simple variant that does not require a radio bridge? Do you value features such as geofencing, where your system recognizes whether you are at home and regulates the temperature accordingly? You should consider these needs and requirements when purchasing.

*This text contains affiliate links. This means: If you make a purchase using the links marked with an asterisk, WELT will receive a small commission. This does not affect the reporting. Our standards of transparency and journalistic independence can be found at axelspringer.de/independence.

This article was first published on September 05, 2019.