A new Remote Heating Control system was just one of the attractions when Climate Change Minister Greg Barker saw how British Gas is helping to improve the energy efficiency of UK homes.

The minister visited the Building Research Establishment (BRE) site in Watford, Hertfordshire, where he was shown around a Victorian Terrace show home fitted with a range of innovative products from British Gas. These include a smart meter, insulation, Safe and Secure, solar PV panels, an air source heat pump and an electric vehicle charging point. We also showed him our latest product, Remote Heating Control, which allows customers to control their heating wherever they are, using the internet or their smart phone, meaning they never have to come home to a cold house again.

At first glance, it acts as a wireless thermostat control. However, unlike a traditional thermostat it communicates with a hub that plugs into a home broadband router. Not only does the system allow customers to turn their heating on and off, auto-schedule times and even change the temperature remotely, it enables them to programme in detailed weekly settings.

Home heating makes up a significant part of energy bills, so Remote Heating Control can help people reduce unnecessary energy consumption, for example if they accidentally leave the heating turned up when going out for the evening, away for the weekend or even on holiday. According to Smart Research, 15% of customers leave their boiler on when they go out for a day and, on average, could save around £140 a year by heating their homes only when they’re in.

Dean Keeling, Managing Director for British Gas Smart Homes said: “This was a great opportunity for British Gas to showcase our smart technology, installation services and innovations to Greg. Demonstrating what the home of the future will look like will no doubt help the Government’s Green Deal initiative get off to a head start. Our technologies are critical to helping our customers save money and reduce their carbon footprint.”

Minister Greg Barker added in a tweet: “I’m blown away by what I’ve seen at BRE this morning… this is world-class Britain.”

British Gas has a two-year sponsorship deal to refurbish two BRE innovation park properties – Victorian Terrace and Integer House. We also support the Government’s vision to reduce the UK’s CO2 emissions by 80% for 2050.

For more information about our Remote Heating Control visit www.britishgas.co.uk/remote, where customers will be able to register their interest in this product from 9^th May.