Category: Blog

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New version of the Heat Genius app released

We’ve been beavering away on the Heat Genius app, adding some neat little features and ironing out a few niggles.  To use the new features all you need to do is quit the app and then launch it and log in again, you’ll then get all these features automatically – we just thought we’d let you know what’s new.New features for easier scheduling

  • Adjust your whole house from one screen
    • Heading out? Just go to the ‘whole house’ page to turn down the temperature for the whole house or selected rooms of your choice. And of course, you can also use this to turn the heating up before you get home.
  • All off
    • Now you can turn the heating off for the whole house at the touch of a button on the whole house page – then restore the rooms when you come home and they’ll go back into the mode they were in before.
  • Select All & Copy
    • You told us that the tick boxes for copying the times from one day to another (or copying the schedule from one week to another) were fiddly to select when you’re using a smartphone. So we’ve now made it so that you can also select the text to choose the days of the week or the rooms that you want to select. You can also click “select all” to copy all of the days or rooms.
  • You can now click on a day to add a new heating period
    • When you’re setting up the timers, you can now just click on the active day and this will automatically add a new time period, so you don’t have to scroll further down the page to tap the add new heating period button.
Other new and improved features
  • Edit logon details now straight from the app, under the cogs button
    • You can now edit your logon details straight from the app if you want to change your username or password.  Look for this under the cogs icon.
  • Oops, we broke the bug report facility!
    • And we thought we weren’t getting any messages because everything was perfectly bug-free 😉  We’ve fixed it now, so let us have your feedback by clicking the option under the cogs button – we’ll get straight on the case.
We’re already working on some exciting new features – we’ll let you know as soon as they’re ready!– The Heat Genius Team

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Half of UK householders think its cheaper to leave the heating on

Time to bust some energy myths! A recent survey of UK householders showed that a shocking 50% think it’s cheaper to leave their home heating on all day than turning the heating on or off and up or down when required. That’s simply not true. According to the Energy Savings Trust,

“For the majority of householders leaving your room thermostat on all day at a lower temperature will not only mean that your home will never be at a comfortable temperature but it will also waste heat when you do not need it. Room thermostats turn the heat on and off when your home reaches the set temperature that you feel comfortable at. Combine this with a timer control that tells your heating system to come on only when you need it to save money on your energy bills.”

Or even better, use Heat Genius to schedule each room to come on only when you need it, and save even more money on your energy bills! Even though a typical system will cost a few hundred pounds, we reckon it’ll easily pay back for itself in 2-3 years – and go on to save thousands of pounds in its lifetime.

The Energy Saving Trust also say that the UK could collectively save nearly £4.4 billion on energy bills if we all take three simple energy saving actions at home:

  • Turn it off – Make sure you turn your lights, appliances and chargers off when you’re not using them. Virtually all electrical and electronic appliances can safely be turned off at the plug without upsetting their systems.
  • Turn it down – Many households have their central heating set higher than they need, without even realising it. If it’s too warm inside, try turning your room thermostat down by one degree and see if you are still at a comfortable temperature. Every degree that you turn it down will make additional savings to your heating bill.
  • Let there be light – Households can now get LED spotlights that are bright enough to replace halogens, as well as regular energy saving bulbs (‘compact fluorescent lamps’ or CFLs) for pretty much everything else. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and fittings and can save households money on their energy bills.

Mind you, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised how many easy opportunities there are to save energy when the same survey revealed that only slightly more than half (54%) know that turning a thermostat up higher doesn’t make your home heat up faster! Let’s spread the knowledge, by sharing this post and other ways we can all cut our energy bills and our carbon footprints.