New ‘Boiler IQ' technology remotely identifies and reports faults, potentially alerting an engineer even before the boiler stops working
British Gas, the UK’s leading energy and home services provider, has announced the launch of its latest innovation in the home, ‘Boiler IQ’. The revolutionary new technology harnesses the expertise of an ex-NASA scientist and is the first UK product to remotely take data directly from sensors in the boiler to detect faults, enabling British Gas to call an engineer for you.
New survey findings released by British Gas revealed that more than half of respondents (56%) had gone without heating for at least a day, and almost a fifth (19%) had even had to take one or more days off work because of boiler problems.
Boiler IQ’s intelligent technology will constantly monitor the boiler, sending data directly to British Gas. As soon as a fault is detected, the customer will be alerted by text and then telephoned to arrange an engineer visit. Spotting faults before customers notice a fix can be arranged more quickly.
Faults can be diagnosed remotely, helping the engineer to know what replacement parts might be needed, ensuring the problem can be fixed more quickly. A trial which studied data from more than 4 billion individual boilers messages shows that Boiler IQ identifies faults, on average, 19-24 hours before a customer does. Last winter, British Gas got to 9 out of 10 HomeCare customers without heating or hot water on the same day when called before noon.
Matthew Bateman, Managing Director of Residential Services at British Gas, commented: “Boiler IQ is a hugely exciting innovation, helping British Gas to stand apart in the home services market, and offering unrivalled benefits to our HomeCare customers.
“Our number one priority is to make customers’ lives easier and more convenient. We know from two years trialling this product just how important it is for our customers to be in control and have peace of mind that their home will stay warm, safe and working.
“Research shows that more than three quarters of people say they would find a smart boiler service that spots faults and alerts them by text before they’ve noticed the issue helpful. Boiler IQ does just that, and will go a long way towards making cold showers a thing of the past.”
British Gas plans to take the technology further in the future, and expects eventually to be able to predict faults even before a problem occurs in the boiler.
Boiler IQ is British Gas’ latest innovation as it bids to stand apart in the home services market, and forms part of the company’s £500m investment in the smart connected home.
The product will be available first to British Gas HomeCare customers with an eligible Worcester Bosch boiler, from 21 March 2016.
For more information please visit: www.britishgas.co.uk/BoilerIQ
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British Gas media contact, Bieneosa Ebite