The heating system moves into the smartphone

• Individual room control via smartphone

• Situation-based operation with new multiMATIC app 2.0

• Heating control with free QIVICON app

The heating system is moving into the smartphone. More and more devices are intelligently interconnected and digitally controllable. In this way, the smartphone is becoming the domestic comfort zone. Users can control and set the coffee machine, rolling shutters, garage door and even the heating system from afar without any problems. It provides comfort, efficiency and lower heating costs in one package: cold homes and jammed garage doors when it’s raining are as much of an abomination as unnecessarily high electricity and gas bills. The only problem with the system is this: to date there has been no uniform, cross-sector standard for integrating the various devices into an interconnected home. That is why Vaillant attaches special importance to the flexible integration of heating appliances into all kinds of smart-home solutions. If a cross-sector standard were to establish itself at some point, Vaillant products could then be integrated into it very smoothly – after all, they are already compatible with all of the smart-home standards that are customary in the market.

Possibility of integration into all the important connection standards

One way of entering the world of smart heating is, for example, IFTTT. IFTTT is a platform through which tablets, smartphones and apps can communicate with each other. The communication on this platform takes place in accordance with the “if this, then that” principle. In other words, the activity of one app elicits a reaction from another app. If, for example, a resident of a house leaves a bathroom window open, the heating is automatically switched off. Or if a resident in an interconnected car gets closer to his house, the temperature in the living room increases by two degrees. If a smoke detector reports a hazard in the house, the heating system switches itself off automatically. What’s behind all this? The suppliers of the two apps that are supposed to communicate with each other are listed with IFTTT. Numerous manufacturers from a wide variety of segments are already represented on the platform – including Vaillant, Philips, Belkin and Telekom. As soon as a new partner joins, a multitude of new combination possibilities develops automatically.

Gains in comfort and efficiency thanks to the smartphone

A further step towards the interconnected house is the individual regulation of rooms using the smartphone. Thanks to radio-based room and radiator thermostats, homeowners can control their heating in every room individually while simultaneously reducing their heating costs. This is possible with, for example, ambiSENSE individual room control and the new multiMATIC app from Vaillant. With the ambiSENSE individual room control, the temperature is controlled individually room by room – regardless of whether the user is on the sofa at home or at some distant holiday destination. Personal time frames can be specified for each room that is supposed to be heated. A spontaneous adjustment to the temperature can be carried out at any time as well – manually using the thermostatic valve, optionally on the room thermostat or via the user’s smartphone. In the app, every room is assigned a freely selectable name. In addition to that, a suitable icon or a self-taken photograph can be stored for them. The actual and target temperatures and the humidity are then displayed for every room. If a window is opened, the radiator valve automatically down-regulates. This saves heating energy and prevents the formation of mould. The Vaillant multiMATIC app makes it possible to control the heating and room temperature in every room according to needs – irrespective of where the user is. This increases the level of convenience and helps to save energy.

The ambiSENSE radiator valves are simply exchanged for existing thermostats without any need for tools. The app contains an assistant that guides users through the entire commissioning process. Once it has been activated, the ambiSENSE system continually exchanges data with all eBUS-enabled Vaillant heat generators and the system controller multiMATIC 700 or the Internet communication module VR 920.

QIVICON bundles smart-home devices on a single platform

On the QIVICON platform, Vaillant customers can integrate their individual room control into a smart-home system that, in turn, can be integrated smoothly into an existing building. Smart-home devices of all kinds and from a diversity of brands are bundled under one technical umbrella on the platform. Their functions can therefore be combined with one another across brand and device boundaries. They can consequently be steered, controlled and automated simply and reliably by smartphone, tablet or PC. Basic functions such as temperature changes can then be controlled using the free QIVICON app. More and more companies are joining the QIVICON platform and are thereby offering users the opportunity to set up a radio-based smart-home system simply, quickly and inexpensively within an existing building. The admission requirements for users are extremely low in comparison with conventional concepts. Users of our eBUS-enabled heating systems and the ambiSENSE individual room control are thereby receiving genuine additional utility.

Connected Comfort as a solution for the entire house

Together with leading building technology manufacturers, Vaillant has established its own consortium: Connected Comfort. The objective of Connected Comfort is – based on the KNX interconnectedness standard – to offer solutions across a range of trades and products that allow for a whole new kind of residential comfort – using scenarios consisting of warmth, lighting, shade and background music that are activated with a keystroke and can be adjusted individually.

About Vaillant

The Vaillant Group is an internationally active company based in Remscheid, Germany, which operates in the fields of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technology. As one of the global market and technology leaders, the Vaillant Group develops and manufactures customised products, systems and services to provide a comfortable living environment. Its product portfolio ranges from efficient heating devices based on conventional energy sources to system solutions for using renewable energy. In the financial year 2020, the company, which has been family-owned since its foundation in 1874, generated sales of more than €2.7 billion with its workforce of about 15,000.