Heating timeswitches in holiday home

tombrown

Hi


We are letting out our house in Donegal for the holiday market in 2020, and are getting everything ready.


One thing I am slightly concerned about is the central heating, which is oil fired. We have time clocks to control it, but how do we prevent renters from leaving it on all the time? I have heard stories of people leaving the heating on all day while they are out so the house is nice & warm when they get home in the evening, and if it is too hot they just open windows.


I live in Clare so wont be able to keep a close eye on it; we have someone who will look after the property, but I don't expect them to check the heating on a daily basis.


Do you think people will generally be reasonable, and the risk of misuse is low or am I right to worry - and, if so, what can I do about it?

FishOnABike

Is electricity cost included in the rental or is it charged by how many units are used?

If electricity is charged based on units used could a flow meter be added between the oil tank and boiler and oil charged for based on usage as well?

ted1

Is their WiFi there? If so install a Nest or similar, if not then get a climote it uses a SIM card and doesn’t need WiFi.

As above get a nest or similar if possible so you can monitor the heating and turn it off remotely if necessary.

A surveillance camera/cameras might be a good idea too for keeping an eye on things.

Phileas Frog

Landyn Howling Weirdo wrote: »

A surveillance camera/cameras might be a good idea too for keeping an eye on things.

Pervert.

Star Lord

So long as they're not 'hidden' cameras, they're not in sensitive areas, and guests are aware of them, there should be no problem.

SozBbz

Star Lord wrote: »

So long as they're not 'hidden' cameras, they're not in sensitive areas, and guests are aware of them, there should be no problem.

If i booked a holiday rental and turned up to find cameras staring at me, there would be war. I'd be asking my credit card company to do a charge back. Absolute invasion of privacy and not remotely proportionate to the risk of a high heating bill.

Hysterical suggestion.

Star Lord

Really depends on where the camera(s) is situated, and what it's facing. If it's simply facing the door/window, to be used as a security measure, then fair enough. I'd agree with you though that if they were invasive/facing general 'living' areas, or private areas (bedrooms/bathrooms etc) then yeah, that'd be too much and too obtrusive.

Phileas Frog

Phileas Frog wrote: »

Pervert.

Yes, because a security camera covering an entrance and outdoor areas would be installed because a person is a pervert :rolleyes:

SozBbz wrote: »

If i booked a holiday rental and turned up to find cameras staring at me, there would be war. I'd be asking my credit card company to do a charge back. Absolute invasion of privacy and not remotely proportionate to the risk of a high heating bill.

Hysterical suggestion.

Do you refuse to stay in a B&B, hotel or Airbnb in an apartment complex with camera all around? Plenty of normal homes have cameras now too so you can be sure plenty of Airbnb’s so do, do you really think people don’t need security cameras especially in a remote holiday home they are not their to check.

I meant a camera say over the front door facing out towards the entrance and maybe one cover the back garden/yard of the house. Very reasonable to have in any home or business and no invasion of privacy whatsoever, nonsense talk of the highest order even suggesting it.

Also the cameras would be for far more than heating monitoring obviously they would be for security of the premises.

Not a hope you would get your money back either btw, do people really think you can just do a charge back simple as that especially for a ridiculous reason? It’s very very difficult to get one done generally only for proven fraud etc.

SozBbz

Landyn Howling Weirdo wrote: »

Do you refuse to stay in a B&B, hotel or Airbnb in an apartment complex with camera all around? Plenty of normal homes have cameras now too so you can be sure plenty of Airbnb’s so do, do you really think people don’t need security cameras especially in a remote holiday home they are not their to check.

I meant a camera say over the front door facing out towards the entrance and maybe one cover the back garden/yard of the house. Very reasonable to have in any home or business and no invasion of privacy whatsoever, nonsense talk of the highest order even suggesting it.

I've stayed in AirBnBs plenty of times and bar legitimate CCTV in apartment complexes, I've never seen cameras trained on a specific property and would not be happy if I cam across one. If I'm paying for the use of a property, I do not expect to be monitored. I think plenty of people feel the same and any owner who puts up cameras willynilly would be foolish, not least for the negative reviews on whatever platform the property is advertised on.

Stop trying to normalise paranoid behaviour.

Charles Babbage

tombrown wrote: »

Hi


We are letting out our house in Donegal for the holiday market in 2020, and are getting everything ready.


One thing I am slightly concerned about is the central heating, which is oil fired. We have time clocks to control it, but how do we prevent renters from leaving it on all the time? I have heard stories of people leaving the heating on all day while they are out so the house is nice & warm when they get home in the evening, and if it is too hot they just open windows.


I live in Clare so wont be able to keep a close eye on it; we have someone who will look after the property, but I don't expect them to check the heating on a daily basis.


Do you think people will generally be reasonable, and the risk of misuse is low or am I right to worry - and, if so, what can I do about it?

Time clocks are only one element, you also need a thermostat, then the house will never be "too hot". Something like Nest or Hive will provide more sophisticated control and more data. Nest can easily be programmed to keep heat on if people are around, for instance passing a sensor, and reduce the temp if not.

tombrown

tombrown wrote: »

Hi


but how do we prevent renters from leaving it on all the time? I have heard stories of people leaving the heating on all day while they are out so the house is nice & warm when they get home in the evening,

They are paying you to stay in the house.
The heating is included however much they want to use it.
Are you concerned about the electricity use also ?

Last place I rented the owner encouraged us to leave it on ,Also supplied us with loads of logs and coal.
Factor it into your pricing and forget about it.

antix80

BrownFinger wrote: »

They are paying you to stay in the house.
The heating is included however much they want to use it.
Are you concerned about the electricity use also ?

My friends and I rented a house in the Mourne mountains a few years ago. There was a fire, but the T&Cs specified a charge for electricity. When we were leaving, there was a negligible amount of electricity used and we weren't charged.

I reckon you should do something similar. Get an electronic gauge and tell occupants that there will be a charge for central heating. If they use less than a certain amount, waive the charge. If they leave it on 24 hours - which could cost €25 or more, apply the charge.

Nest may also be a good solution as you can lock down the thermostat-i believe within certain ranges. It can detect if the house is empty and reduce the temperature automatically.

SozBbz

antix80 wrote: »

My friends and I rented a house in the Mourne mountains a few years ago. There was a fire, but the T&Cs specified a charge for electricity. When we were leaving, there was a negligible amount of electricity used and we weren't charged.

I reckon you should do something similar. Get an electronic gauge and tell occupants that there will be a charge for central heating. If they use less than a certain amount, waive the charge. If they leave it on 24 hours - which could cost €25 or more, apply the charge.

Nest may also be a good solution as you can lock down the thermostat-i believe within certain ranges. It can detect if the house is empty and reduce the temperature automatically.

Agree totally. We had a similar situation in a holiday home rental in Dungarvan a while back. Part of checking out was a reading of how much was used and charged accordingly. It wasnt much but it negates that risk.

Nest seems like an obvious solution as it allows you more controls at a distance, and also allows you to control the heating when the property is empty, which is important for the overall maintenance of the property in terms of damp etc.

ted1

BrownFinger wrote: »

They are paying you to stay in the house.
The heating is included however much they want to use it.
Are you concerned about the electricity use also ?

Last place I rented the owner encouraged us to leave it on ,Also supplied us with loads of logs and coal.
Factor it into your pricing and forget about it.

The op might be there when they check out. By having remote access they can turn off the heating when they leave. Or ore heat before they arrive.

drunkmonkey

Give Electric Ireland a call and try and wrangle a nest and reduced bills off them for your own house and rental if you can, they can do better deals than advertised https://www.electricireland.ie/switch/new-customer/price-plans/smart-heating/nest-thermostat/learn-more?Length=9

Saved a fortune on our heating bills and have a more comfortable house. Never too hot or cold.

tombrown

Thanks for all the feedback - sounds like Nest is the way.


I assume that it allows all the usual controls (on, off, boost, time switch) for someone in the house as well as the remote control ability? So long as I can keep an eye on it and if it looks like someone is running the heating 24/7 I can have a word

I also like the idea of thermostat control and lower temps when the house is empty