I've needed a way to control home heating remotely for a long time (for slow starting UFH) but haven't got round to it yet.
I was interested to see in Electric Ireland's latest e-mailing (Switched On #15) a system called "Climote" which does this job. Only thing is, the price seems nuts -- €299 including installation ("reduced from RRP of €399") and €40 odd per year for the "remote access fee".
Now I haven't even looked carefully yet, but it seems to me that I can easily get a single relay controller from the UK or Europe for half that money, and a PAYG SIM that just receives text inputs costs a tenner up front and zero for ongoing "remote access". Admittedly I'd have to do wiring myself, but we are talking about replacing a single switch -- hardly rocket science.
Has anyone else looked into this or other systems in more detail? Is there any reason for Electric Ireland's crazy price other than the usual -- gullible captive audience?
I was interested to see in Electric Ireland's latest e-mailing (Switched On #15) a system called "Climote" which does this job. Only thing is, the price seems nuts -- €299 including installation ("reduced from RRP of €399") and €40 odd per year for the "remote access fee".
Now I haven't even looked carefully yet, but it seems to me that I can easily get a single relay controller from the UK or Europe for half that money, and a PAYG SIM that just receives text inputs costs a tenner up front and zero for ongoing "remote access". Admittedly I'd have to do wiring myself, but we are talking about replacing a single switch -- hardly rocket science.
Has anyone else looked into this or other systems in more detail? Is there any reason for Electric Ireland's crazy price other than the usual -- gullible captive audience?