How to Reduce Energy Consumption with Smart Heating Control

Smart heating systems can reduce household energy consumption by up to 30%. They feature a range of intelligent functions that optimise the operation of the heating system with regard to your comfort and savings. Discover the differences between traditional and smart thermostats and the features offered by Danfoss products.

What Does "Smart Heating" Mean?

Smart heating refers to systems that help maximise the optimisation of the heating system's operation with regard to thermal comfort and energy savings. This can include smart thermostats or smart thermostatic radiator valves, depending on whether you have radiator or underfloor heating, or a local or district heating source.

Basic features of smart heating include the ability to program a heating schedule for different zones. The thermostat (or smart thermostatic radiator valve) then automatically regulates the temperature based on your usual daily and weekly routine, ensuring that each room always has the desired temperature.

Currently, manufacturers offer a wide range of systems for smart heating control in both family houses and apartments. Leading brands include Danfoss, which offers solutions for underfloor (Danfoss Icon) and radiator heating (Danfoss Ally), with Danfoss thermostatic radiator valves also suitable for central district heating.

If you have a combined heating system, you can easily connect these two systems in one central unit and control them from a single application. In addition to individual components, you can also purchase cost-effective sets.

Cost-effective Danfoss Icon set

Basic Differences Between Traditional and Smart Thermostats

Traditional thermostats:

• Only allow manual temperature control directly in the room.
• Traditional thermostats maintain a stable indoor temperature without the possibility of further heating operation optimisation and without automatic regulation.

Smart thermostats:

• Allow you to program a weekly heating schedule for each room individually.
• Enable remote control via a mobile app, smart home app, or voice assistants.
• Various models feature a range of additional smart functions for even greater comfort and savings.

Features of Danfoss Ally and Danfoss Icon Smart Heating

Danfoss Ally and Danfoss Icon smart heating systems are compatible with almost all heating systems and heat sources. They communicate wirelessly, so you can control them remotely – whether via a mobile app, voice assistant, or your smart home system. Thanks to the ZigBee platform and open interface, these systems offer wide integration possibilities with other products, even from other manufacturers. For centralising and connecting smart home devices via Zigbee, the Somfy TaHoma switch serves as a control unit, supporting up to 50 ZigBee products from various manufacturers.

In addition to zonal and time-based heating regulation, Danfoss smart heating offers additional features for even greater savings – such as adaptive learning or open window detection, which automatically reduces heating in the zone during ventilation.

The second-generation Danfoss Icon2 also allows for the control of underfloor cooling or ceiling heating/cooling and automatically balances underfloor heating loops. It distributes heat evenly in each room according to the floor area size. It can also be connected to multiple heat sources, with smart software optimising operation for heat pumps. A dew point sensor additionally provides protection against moisture condensation.

How Can Smart Heating Help You Save on Energy?

Smart heating systems can save you up to 30% on heating costs, with a return on investment ranging from 1-2 years. It's no wonder that economic benefits, along with ecological ones, are the main reasons why more and more households are opting for smart heating today.

And how is it possible to achieve such significant savings?

1. With smart heating, you will never overheat unnecessarily in rooms where you are not currently present.
2. Each room will always have the ideal temperature without you having to constantly adjust the thermostat.
3. You will never forget to lower the temperature before going to bed or leaving home. Smart heating automatically regulates according to programmed schedules.
4. Thanks to smart sensors and very precise heating regulation, the system can quickly respond to changes in weather.
5. The adaptive learning function continuously analyses heating operation information, which it uses for even greater savings.
6. With the mobile app, you will have maximum control over your heating, anytime and anywhere.

With the mobile app, you can control Danfoss smart heating from anywhere, anytime

Installation and Setup of Danfoss Ally and Danfoss Icon Smart Heating

Installing Danfoss Ally thermostatic radiator valves is very simple and can be done by any skilled DIY enthusiast. Since the entire system is wireless, there are no construction or electrical installation works required. Simply attach the digital thermostatic heads to the radiator valves and pair them with the mobile app, which will guide you through the setup step by step. If you want to use Danfoss Ally to switch the heating source on and off, you can connect it to the boiler relay with the help of your heating technician.

The Danfoss Icon system for wireless underfloor heating control also offers very easy and quick installation, but it is necessary to connect the cables correctly, so we recommend contacting a smart heating installer.

How to Set Heating Modes in the Danfoss Mobile App?

In the mobile app, you can easily set the desired temperatures for each room and each time of day separately. In the clear weekly calendar, you will see the individual temperatures for the "home" and "away" modes. You can just as easily set the "holiday" mode, which adjusts the temperatures throughout the house during your extended absence.

If the current temperature does not suit you for some reason, you can adjust it with a few clicks in the app or via a voice command. We recommend monitoring whether the set temperatures suit you in the first few weeks and adjusting them according to your individual needs if necessary.

Cost-effective Danfoss Icon sets Cost-effective Danfoss Ally sets