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Installing Remote Heating Control

1 Reply Christopher Roberts

This is the second in a series of articles in which I am exploring Remote Heating Control – a technology of the future. Learn more about this series by reading the introductory article, called stepping into the future of smarter living.

In this article, I will be reviewing the installation of the technology I have had fitted in my home: Remote Heating Control.

The Parts

The install involved three main parts: the wireless hub; the wireless receiver; and a new thermostat.

Installation

The wireless receiver was installed first. This was installed near to my boiler, and receives the wireless signal from my new thermostat controller. The wireless receiver is connected to the boiler using a cable.

British Gas Remote Heating Control

My British Gas wireless receiver

After the wireless receiver was connected, Nick (the British Gas engineer who installed my technology) installed my new smart linked thermostat. This looked much more advanced than my previous thermostat controller, and wasn’t just a dial. My new thermostat controller has an LED display and four buttons for programming. Programming can be done via two main methods, on the device itself, or via the online portal. The online portal can be accessed either by smartphone or computer. The easiest way to manage my heating will be online.

British Gas Remote Heating Control

My British Gas smart linked thermostat

British Gas Remote Heating Control

My British Gas wireless hub

Finally, the wireless hub was installed. This is a small device, which plugged into my internet router and the mains – AC power supply. I needed one spare Ethernet port in my internet hub, and a free mains plug socket nearby, which I did. I imagine for most people the mains plug socket shouldn’t be an issue, as the likelyhood is that your router is near a plug socket, so an adapter plug or extension lead can be used. I would also imagine that you will have a spare Ethernet port in your internet hub, however if you are using all the available ports, you may need to buy an extension hub to ensure that you can still have all your devices connected.

How It Works

Here is a brief synopsis of what is now installed in my home, i.e. the technology that makes up Remote Heating Control. My boiler is now connected to a wireless receiver. This wireless receiver ‘talks’ (communicates wirelessly) with my smart linked thermostat, which communicates with my wireless hub. The wireless hub it plugged into my router and sends and receives information to and from the online portal.

To control my heating I can either login to the British Gas portal, online or via a smartphone app, text commands to my heating via SMS, or programme it manually. My new smart linked thermostat which can be used to control the system is wirelessly connected to my boiler. When I change settings on my smart linked thermostat, this affects the behaviour of my boiler, and the information is transmitted to British Gas, which updates the online system.

Opinions

I have a few opinions and thoughts on the installation that I would like to share with you.

The first is that Nick (the engineer) was very friendly, curious and acted professionally. He phoned me before his arrival to check it was okay with me still and let me know his estimated time of arrival.

When installing my wireless hub, Nick asked me to plug it in at the wall, and into my internet router. This is because he didn’t know exactly how my technology worked, and therefore didn’t want to damage it. I have a standard router, however I think it is good that he asked me to do it, yes it removes his liability, but it does mean that I know nothing was broken.

My impression of what British Gas staff (specifically engineers) are like is very good, Nick seem to be no trouble to deal with.

Regarding my smart linked thermostat, it is a little inconvenient that it runs on batteries. My old thermostat was directly wired into my boiler, however this one is wireless and takes two AA batteries. The batteries are no big deal really, I imagine it will get as routine as checking/changing a smoke alarm, however it is a task I had not anticipated I would need to do. That said, it will be easy to know when to change the batteries, as there is battery indicator online!

Online Control

In order to set up my online control I need to log in and get the devices to find each other. It was really easy, and the web based interface gives you a really well explained walk through. Once my devices had been discovered by the system, I was asked to create a four digit pin, which I would have to use when texting heating commands. If you get Remote Heating Control, it would be a good idea to write this down – which I did needless to say!

Next Time

In the next article in the series I will give you my first impressions of using Remote Heating Control for the first time. I will be exploring any issues I encounter, how it helps me, and the potential I believe it has.

How to share a mobile broadband connection

2 Replies Joe Linford

With the increase in mobile broadband technology, many people are increasingly turning to mobile dongles (like the ones here) at home instead of traditional connections, which cuts out the need for a fixed-line. However, with mobile broadband there are certain problems that can arise, the most obvious being that of sharing your internet connection with another device.

An O2 dongle pluged into a laptop

A USB dongle – used to remotely connect to the internet

However, that needn’t be something that you become overly concerned with, as these days there are a variety of ways to share your mobile connection.

Most of the top providers are now offering technology to allow you to do this, such as 3 Mobile’s MiFi. With this you simply purchase the 3 MiFi and you’re away. It works pretty much the same way as a dongle, with one difference.

With a dongle you have to plug it into the machine, with MiFi you don’t, and can therefore connect to multiple devices at the same time. The devices themselves are small and easily portable; however, as is often the case with mobile broadband, internet speeds can be a little slower than hardwiring or even traditional Wi-Fi.

This doesn’t just mean you can connect to another Wi-Fi enabled laptops, games consoles or mobile devices, but also other Wi-Fi enabled devices including cameras, such as the Nikon Coolpix and the Kindle, so with MiFi and similar technologies, you can connect any combination of these, up to five devices. You can follow this link for more information on 3’s MiFi device.

A portable Wi-Fi router is another option for sharing the net. These are now relatively inexpensive and quite straightforward to use. You simply connect to a mobile network and share with other devices. However, do shop around before choosing one, as some are better than others.

Internet connection sharing is another option. By connecting a laptop or PC to the internet, you can then share its connection with other devices. For example if you’re running windows 7 this can be done through the network and Sharing Centre, but can be quite complicated  to carry out so is really only useful for advanced users or those who have the time and patience to hit the forums and get step by step instructions.

With different operating systems it works slightly differently so you may have to look up how to do this on yours too, this can be something of a headache.

If you have a 3G enabled phone, you can connect to the 3G broadband connection and then share with other devices. So as long as you have a signal, you can connect to your laptop or another device. However, download speeds are often reduced and quite often you can’t get unlimited data, so if you are sharing a connection you could quickly reach your limit.

The new iPad will allow you to do the same thing, however, despite the device being initially offered as 4G, this technology isn’t yet available in the UK. 4G uses the old terrestrial TV signal waves and widens the spectrum for mobile broadband.

However, Ofcom will be auctioning off the spectrum later in the year and this should be available in 2013 with the top mobile operators and will give even more options for mobile broadband.

Could You Benefit From An iPhone VPN?

Leave a reply Iphone VPN Guru

If you need a secure connection on your iPhone, then you may find an  need an iPhone VPN.

It is important that you sign up with a trusted VPN provider. With a trusted iPhone VPN provider, you will get the best service and most reliable connections. The best VPN providers write all of their own software and can therefore offer the fastest service worldwide.

What Does an iPhone VPN Do?

Simply put, an iPhone VPN protects your privacy. When you have a VPN for your smartphone, you have access to four primary advantages over standard internet browsing:

  • Stop ISP Inspections. Prevent your internet service provider from throttling, prioritizing, and inspecting the data that goes in and out of your iPhone.
  • Protect the Activities That You Do Online. A VPN is a secure “tunnel” that takes you to the internet. With a VPN, you get to cruise the internet your way, not someone else’s way.
  • Protect Your IP Address. With an iPhone VPN, the only thing websites will see is the server’s communications.
  • Prevent Location Identification. With a VPN, your IP address is substituted for one that is not based on your location. This prevents location-based ads from affecting your internet experience.

An iPhone VPN Allows Access to Country Specific Sites

Some people feel that an iPhone VPN is actually very limiting. With a VPN tunnel, you can access country specific sites, but not sites outside that country.

If you have a US VPN, for example, you would be able to visit US sites, but not Canadian sites. The same rules apply for every country’s VPN connections.

Though limiting, this type of connection provides the greatest amount of security for the end user. That is why you should use a global VPN provider for your iPhone VPN needs. Global VPN providers have servers located around the world and allow you to access your favorite websites from anywhere. If you need to access a secure site in France, but you live in Canada, you can log into the French VPN and have a high speed connection.

An iPhone VPN Provider Should Provide You Many IP Addresses

One of the difficulties that VPN providers face is limited resources and a reliance on third parties. If you are choosing an iPhone VPN provider, you should look for one that can provide you with many IP addresses. For the most reliable connections the provider should write their own server software, own their own hardware, and manage their own network.

Why Is A 256 Bit Encryption Better?

A 128 bit encryption module is not as secure as it used to be. That’s why the best iPhone VPN providers utilize 256 bit encryption to provide highest level of security possible. You should have access to multiple protocols like PPTP, OpenVPN, and L2TP/IPsec to secure all of your devices.

Encripted data

VPN can offer safer surfing, thanks to network encryption

Summary of Benefits

An iPhone VPN is not a substitute for your mobile provider, as you need internet in order to access the VPN server. Once you have logged into your secure tunnel, however, you get the added security benefits that a VPN provides.

When you want a secure solution to browse the internet from your iPhone, then a VPN is often safer. Bypass location based IP blocking, avoid geographical restrictions, and access your favorite websites from home or abroad.