After six months testing of Genius Hub thoroughly in his own home, Tech Radar’s Dean Evans has finally given his verdict:
“Heat Genius gives you unprecedented control (and remote control) over your central heating, dragging your old copper pipes into the 21st century. Don’t let the price put you off: once you try such a system, you won’t want to go back.”
Although the “Genius Hub” base package is only £249, it’s true that a fully smart, zoned Genius Hub system will cost significantly more. So why does he think it’s worth investing in smart heating controls, instead of just sticking with your traditional thermostat that simply switches your boiler on and off?
“A smart thermostat… learns and adapts to your occupancy schedule, adjusting your home’s heating accordingly, and it also enables you to wirelessly control your home’s temperature remotely. Staying out late? Nobody home? You can switch your heating off to save money using an app on your smartphone.”
There are other alternatives available that offer that functionality, including the famous Nest thermostat from Nest Labs, now owned by Google. Nest isn’t a ‘zoned’ system though, it still only switches your boiler on and off. Dean explains why he thinks it’s worth using Genius Hub to go beyond just smart boiler control:
“Heat Genius starts to stand out from the clever-clogs heating crowd when you add ‘zoned’ and ‘smart’ heating functionality to it. This means investing in some extra kit… [but] it’s worth it – zoned heating is one of the system’s biggest draws.
With most heating systems, smart or otherwise, your radiators are either all on or they’re all off; there’s no middle ground. So if you live in a three-bedroom house, but you don’t regularly use two of the bedrooms, you’re wasting money heating them. Add wireless thermostatic radiator valves to your radiators and the Heat Genius system can control them individually.”
It’s great to see such a major technology publication sing the praises of smart, zoned heating. And Dean’s positive comments didn’t end there…
Discover the final verdict by reading the full review on TechRadar,
or learn about how Genius Hub works.
