Tado launches cloud-based, weather-controlled smart heating system

The system works partly by keeping track of residents’ smartphones (it works with iOS and Android), which communicate with the Tado thermostat through the cloud. When it detects the last registered smartphone leaving the house, the heating goes down. And when it detects one of them starting to return home from work or the supermarket, it’ll crank the temperature back up. You can also control the system manually through the app.

The Tado Connector Kit costs a one-off fee of £250 (which gives you “life membership” of the system), or can be rented for £7 a month. It’ll be available from early November and Tado says it’s so easy to install that 97 percent of its existing German customers put it in themselves. You can reserve a kit at Tado’s website now.