It seems like a great idea to control each room individually using a ‘zoned’ heating control systems such as Heat Genius. But it can work out to be a much bigger investment that simple whole house controls. To ‘zone’ your home, each radiator needs to be fitted with a wireless radiator valve, and each underfloor zone needs a receiver too. Is it worth the extra investment?

The answer depends very much on your property, and how you use it. If you live in a small apartment, any simple smart thermostat will do the trick. The real advantages come if you live in a larger property. In particular, you’ll see bigger energy savings if you ‘zone’ rooms that:

• are regularly empty for more than an hour.
• are separated from other rooms – that means you need to close the door!
• you don’t already control manually. If you always remember to switch off the radiator in your spare bedroom when your guests leave, there’s no need to automate it.
• are large: the bigger the space, the bigger the energy savings.

The good news is that there’s no need to buy everything at once. The only part that requires professional installation is the “Genius Hub” base system, and underfloor controls if you have that. Radiator valves are easy to install or move around yourself.

So why not go ahead and create your system with radiator valves for the ‘main’ rooms, plus a couple to experiment with? Alternatively, if you’d like more advice on zoning, just ask.