British Gas Boiler IQ is a sensor pack that detects when a boiler stops heating your radiators or generating hot water. Boiler IQ is monitored in real-time by British Gas engineers, who can alert you should your boiler experience any faults, so that any necessary fix can be booked in.
Boiler IQ is available to British Gas customers who have a compatible Worcester Bosch boiler. There’s no installation charge if installation is booked in advance, and the sensor pack itself will either be installed within or beside the boiler. One thing to keep in mind is that Boiler IQ requires a steady internet connection, so it may not be suitable for some homes.
Boiler Breakdowns and Boiler Health
Boiler breakdown. We’ve all experienced it at some time or another, and yes, it is always at the coldest time of the year. This is because we use our boilers less during the summer and valves get sticky through non-use. Come the winter, the creaky valves are suddenly called into action and this is when problems begin to multiply. According to British Gas figures, over the past five years, 56 per cent of people in the UK lost heating for at least 24 hours, and 19 per cent have had to at least one day off work because of a faulty boiler.
British Gas has taken a radical new approach to the problem of boiler breakdown, with the help of ex-Nasa scientist Adi Andrei. He and his team have developed Boiler IQ, a device which detects problems with your boiler before they worsen, and alerts you and an engineer to the problem. Boiler IQ is being rolled out this March.
Related: Contact British Gas
Pre-emptive Maintenance
By closely monitoring the messages your boiler sends to the Boiler IQ device, problems will automatically be spotted before they become critical. Not only will it alert you to the problem, it will suggest three possible causes to your local engineer, so that he can arrive with the spare parts you may need, reducing the need for an extra visit while parts are sourced.
This saves time and money. Customers are alerted by SMS text when there is a problem and offered an engineer’s appointment at their own convenience. This sort of prompt action can save the misery of broken down boilers and subsequent loss of hot water and heating. This can be critical for older, vulnerable customers or those with young children.
Related: British Gas Hive Active Heating guide
The Boiler IQ device simply clips on to the front of a compatible boiler and continuously monitors the data that it collects. This is fed back to British Gas, whose systems will alert them to the problem. The system complements other stylish new systems that British Gas have launched in recent years, such as their Hive thermostat control system, which allows you to control your heating remotely. In fact, Boiler IQ was developed by the same scientists who brought the popular Hive thermostat system to the market.
Boiler IQ Compatibility
Currently, Boiler IQ is only compatible with 2 million Worcester Bosch boilers, but British Gas are in talks with other manufacturers to roll the technology out further over the coming months. Those who currently own a Worcester Bosch boiler and are British Gas HomeCare customers will be offered the system at a cost of £49 one-off installation cost, with a simple £3 monthly charge thereafter. This is an impressively low cost for such cutting-edge technology, and demand is likely to be high.
Cost savings over time will more than mitigate installation and on-going monthly cost. Most importantly, however, is the peace of mind that the system offers. British Gas are confidently predicting a high take up, particularly amongst those who have already embraced Hive and other automatic home sensor systems.