Modern Heating Control – How Can You Save Up to 30%?

With modern heating control – room thermostats, time programmes and automation that takes absence, an open window or sunshine into account – significant savings can be achieved, because the house heats only where and as much as needed. The up to 30% in the title is an upper value: it can be approached if the previous control was very wasteful, so the actual result always depends on the starting point.

Heating is one of the biggest household costs, and many people think that saving is only possible at the expense of comfort. Modern heating control shows the opposite: it is more precise, more convenient, and uses less energy. In this guide we present its elements, and also where the savings really come from.

Why is a single thermostat not enough?

In traditional systems – whether radiator heating or simpler underfloor heating – a single thermostat often controls the whole flat, or the heating can only be switched on and off. Such a system does not react to changes in outside temperature, to sunshine coming in, or to the different needs of individual rooms, so it easily overheats and causes unnecessary consumption.

Modern control has become important for several reasons:

• Unpredictable energy prices: every kilowatt-hour saved counts.
• Environmental awareness: less energy used means a smaller environmental load.
• Comfort needs: there is no point heating an empty guest room the same way as the living room.
• Outdated systems: many homes still have poorly controllable heating today, with an unjustifiably high bill.

The pillars of modern heating control

The essence of modern heating control is precision, flexibility and automation.

1. Zone control – a different temperature in each room

Instead of the whole house standing at a single temperature, the temperature and time programme can be set separately in each room (or heating zone).

• Different functions: as a guide, around 21 °C is pleasant in the living room, cooler, around 18 °C, in the bedroom, and 23–24 °C in the bathroom – this varies from person to person.
• Occupancy: rarely used rooms (guest room, utility room) only need to be kept temperate.
• Orientation: north-facing rooms cool faster, while south-facing ones are also warmed by the sun; zoning evens this out.

Ways to implement it:

• Smart thermostats per room or per heating circuit.
• Smart radiator heads for radiator systems: they can be controlled from a phone or a central unit, so each radiator can be set separately.
• With electric heating, infrared heating – infrared panel, panel heater, heating film or the older heating film as underfloor heating, ceiling heating or wall heating – is easy to zone from the outset, because every heated surface gets a separate connection and typically its own thermostat.

Which type of thermostat is for what, and where it is worth installing, we describe in our article on room thermostats.

2. Programming and automation

• Daily and weekly programmes: you can set in advance what temperature should apply at what time of day. While the family is at work or school, the living room temperature can drop, and half an hour before they come home the system heats back up.
• Self-learning operation: more advanced systems learn how long a room takes to warm up or cool down, and time the start accordingly so that the set value is reached at the desired time.
• Weather following: many smart thermostats take the temperature forecast into account, and some types also sunshine – if the sun heats up the living room, the heating backs off.
• Location-based control (geofencing): it senses from the phone's position whether you have left home or are heading back.
• Open-window detection: from a sudden temperature drop it recognises ventilation and temporarily stops the heating.

Technological solutions

• Smart thermostats: they replace the traditional thermostat and connect to a phone app over wifi. Most can be used with any heating: gas boilers, wet underfloor heating and electric heating – heating mats, heating cables, heating film, infrared panels – and some types also with air conditioners. Typical functions: remote access, consumption tracking, weekly programme, weather forecast.
• Smart radiator heads: the simplest tools of zone control for radiator heating.
• Central control unit: in a more complex smart home a hub coordinates the heating, lighting and security system.
• Electric heating and smart control: electric surface heating reacts quickly, which a smart thermostat exploits well: heat-up time is shorter, and the set temperature can be held more precisely.

Where do the savings come from?

The saving does not come from a single function but from several factors together:

1. Unnecessary heating stops. If the house does not heat at full temperature when nobody is home or everyone is asleep, that alone is a significant saving. A smart thermostat does this by itself with a programme or location-based control.
2. More precise temperature. With manual control it is often 1-2 degrees warmer than necessary. According to a 2022 estimate by the International Energy Agency (IEA), setting the thermostat 1 °C lower saves roughly 7% of heating energy – if more precise control eliminates overheating, this shows directly on the bill.
3. Zone control. Keeping rarely used rooms temperate instead of heating the whole house equally is a further saving.
4. Self-learning and weather-following operation. The system heats at the necessary time and to the necessary extent, and also counts the heat of the sun coming in.
5. Consumption tracking. Real-time data shows where energy is used needlessly, and settings can be adjusted accordingly.

How much all this adds up to cannot be said in general. For a house held at a single high temperature all day, even when the flat is empty, the up to 30% mentioned in the title may be reachable; with a system that is already programmed and controlled room by room, the further improvement is smaller. You can check your own result by measuring consumption before and after the changeover – our article on measuring electricity consumption shows how.

Further advantages and connection options

• Greater comfort: the temperature is what you like without having to adjust it.
• Remote access: you can check and change the settings from anywhere on your phone.
• Environment: lower use means a smaller environmental load.
• Integration: many systems work together with other smart home devices – for example, when the alarm is armed, the heating backs off.
• With solar panels: alongside a solar panel system and a home battery, smart control helps use self-generated electricity when it is available. How much this means on the bill also depends on the metering method: since 1 January 2024, new household systems in Hungary are on gross metering – fed-in and drawn electricity are accounted for separately – and net metering could be kept only by systems applied for by September 2023 and commissioned by 1 January 2026, for up to 10 years.
• Supplementary heaters: terrace heating or seedling heating can also be controlled with a smart socket or their own thermostat, so these do not run needlessly either.
• Electrosmog: thermostats and controllers are electrical devices too. You can read what electrosmog means, and what values we measured for heating film, on a separate page.

Installation and commissioning – the role of the professional

Although many smart thermostats are offered for do-it-yourself installation, a professional is strongly recommended for safe and efficient operation, especially with a gas boiler or a complex electric heating system.

• Compatibility: the professional chooses a solution that suits the existing heating.
• Safe wiring: electrical work and connecting the boiler control require expertise.
• Settings: initial programming and calibration are more effective with expert help.
• Maintenance: periodic checking of the heating system – especially a wet system – remains important.

Summary

Modern heating control is not just a convenience feature: with smart thermostats, zone control and automated operation, heating cost can be reduced and comfort increases. The payback and the size of the saving depend on the starting system – the more wasteful the previous control was, the more the change brings. We have also written separately about the advantages of the programmable thermostat: 5 reasons to install a programmable thermostat.