British Gas is testing a revolutionary technology that can spot faults in boilers and in some cases even before they break down.
- ‘Connected boilers’ mean problems can be detected and diagnosed remotely, and sometimes faults can be picked up before the boiler fails
- Engineers are more likely to turn up with the right part and spend less time in the customers home because they already know what the fault is before they arrive
- Tests show British Gas can spot faults before customers notice a problem with their boiler
British Gas is testing a revolutionary technology that can spot faults in boilers and in some cases even before they break down.
The ground-breaking system means boilers can now join the “internet of things” – household items which can be connected remotely, via the Cloud.
The revolutionary boiler being tested by British Gas has an in built wireless “zigbee” transmitter and hub that plugs into the customers broadband router.
This means data is sent to British Gas in real time, from the boiler to the “cloud diagnostics engine”. Faults can be diagnosed quickly and rectified, potentially before the boiler fails.
Seven hundred homes are taking part in the trial, which is using Worcester Bosch and British Gas technology to diagnose faults and fix breakdowns. The trial will continue until the end of 2014.
Kassir Hussain, Director of British Gas Connected Homes, said:“Current boiler technology means many engineer visits to investigate a boiler fault result in a return visits because engineers cannot carry every potential spare part with them for every visit.”
“Connected Boilers which can tell us what the fault is remotely mean we can fix boilers first time, much more reliably. It’s never convenient when a boiler needs repairing – but this revolutionary new system can make an engineer visit even shorter. In some cases, we’ll be able to contact the customer to fix their boiler before our customer even notices a problem saving them having to call us.”
British Gas’ connected boilers are the latest innovation from British Gas. The UK’s largest gas and electricity supplier has already installed 1.4 million smart meters into homes and businesses, and more than 80,000 homes are remotely controlling their heating and hot water via a smartphone with Hive Active Heating.
To find out more about British Gas smart energy solutions visit http://www.britishgas.co.uk/smarter-living.html%20.
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Tim Cowen - Tim.Cowen@britishgas.co.uk
British Gas Press Office:
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