Smart heating controls cut household gas use in two-year test

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Smart heating controls cut gas use

Highlights

The two-year test in a 1930s brick house compared a manual gas boiler setup with an AI-governed Tado X system over matching 213-day winter periods.
The AI-controlled Tado X system reduced gas use by 2,581 kilowatt hours versus manual control, yielding an estimated saving of £205.70 for November–May.
Smart room-by-room heating enabled targeted comfort and operational flexibility, notably reducing unnecessary energy use in rarely used spaces like a porch.

Two-year household test and system setup

As first reported by The Guardian, the test compared a manually controlled heating setup in a 1930s solid-brick house with an AI-governed smart system over matching 213-day winter periods.

In the winter of 2024, the home used a 10-year-old Worcester Bosch combi gas boiler, a Hive thermostat with smart features disabled and 13 radiators fitted with standard thermostatic radiator valves. The manual approach relied on a basic morning and evening schedule, selective use of radiators in occupied rooms and switching the heating off when leaving the house.

After adjusting for hot water usage using summer 2025 records, that manual setup consumed 14,316.7 kilowatt hours of gas from November to May. The article said that was about 10% to 15% lower than in previous years, when heating had been managed less tightly.

In the summer of 2025, the Hive thermostat was replaced with a Tado X system linked to the existing boiler. The installation included 13 smart radiator thermostats, wireless thermostats in the two largest rooms and a programmer wired to the boiler, with the full setup valued at about £930, while the AI functions required a subscription costing £3.99 a month or £29.99 a year.

Bill savings and broader household impact

Instead of running one temperature setting for the whole property, the smart system managed heating room by room, allowing radiators in unused spaces to remain off while directing heat where needed. Early data from Tado's Energy IQ feature showed that a radiator in an uninsulated porch was using disproportionately high energy, prompting a schedule change that cut unnecessary heating there.

Across the same November-to-May period with relatively similar outside temperatures, and after adjusting again for hot water usage, the AI-controlled setup used 11,735.7 kilowatt hours. That was 2,581 kilowatt hours less than the manual regime, equivalent to an estimated saving of £205.70 at the current energy price cap.

The test also pointed to operational benefits beyond lower consumption. Room-by-room control made it easier to warm living areas in the evening without overheating bedrooms, while also allowing targeted heating for bathrooms, children's rooms or the porch when needed.

Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said the UK economy has absorbed the energy price shock better than initially feared, citing policy support that helped stabilize markets as costs rose. Our earlier coverage also noted that despite this resilience, policymakers remain focused on ongoing risks from still-elevated energy prices, including inflation and market volatility, and the need to adapt policy to maintain financial stability.

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