A recent study among 4800 households commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment found that in 75% of Dutch households with central heating, the temperature setting of the thermostat is not lowered when nobody is at home. If the temperature setting is lowered while nobody is at home, these 3 million households together would save approximately € 450 million per year, or € 150 per household per year.

GeoTherm is an internet-connected self-learning thermostat that can be paired with one or more mobile phones and that will automatically lower the temperature setting once (the mobile phones of the) inhabitants have left the house. Moreover, it will automatically start to increase the temperature setting before the first inhabitant is due to arrive (based on self-learned travel patterns and current deviations, e.g. when someone is working late or caught up in traffic), just in time to achieve the desired comfort temperature when the first inhabitant arrives home.

To validate to which extent savings can be realized, the GeoTherm service will be trialled under realistic conditions. The project defines two experiments with real users: a measurement trial to obtain feedback on the operation of the service, and a thermostat trial, during the winter of 2010/2011, in which the thermostat is controlled by the service.

More information is available at http://geotherm.novay.nl/index_en.html