Save money on heating without changing your radiators? Here is tiko’s promise. Thanks to this small free box, connect your electric radiators in order to precisely control the temperature of your interior. The objective: up to 25% savings on your electricity bill. We’ll explain how it works.
With rampant inflation, it is tempting, but difficult, to reduce the amount of your heating bill. Especially when said heating relies on electric radiators. But rather than cutting off all the radiators and spending the winter chattering, there is a solution to optimize your installation for free and without work.
This is precisely what tiko offers. This Swiss start-up, acquired by Engie in 2019, invites the French to install connected thermostats on their electric radiators to transform them into smart devices. The goal ? Fully and precisely control the temperature of your home from a single application. An effective way to save up to 25% on your energy bills. With a major argument: tiko connected thermostats are free and do not require any work for installation.
Optimization for nothing
Reducing your energy bill is good. Doing it without breaking the bank on work and equipment is better. Therein lies the true strength of tiko. Provided that your home is equipped with at least three electric radiators and a Linky meter, tiko connected thermostats cost the resident nothing. No subscription or setup fees are required.
Thanks to the bonus Help» implemented by the French government, part, or even all, of the cost of installation and equipment is covered. As for the possible remainder, it is offered by tiko via its “Ecocitizen Bonus” for participation in the stabilization of the electricity network, to encourage the French to consume energy better and thank them for changing their habits.
Although free, the installation of thermostats and other devices necessary for optimization is carried out by a professional. You must first book an appointment online, choosing the date and time of intervention. On the big day, a technician is responsible for installing the equipment. It then helps the user configure the control application and define the different heating programs.
A complete ecosystem
The tiko solution is based on a single control module which is fixed under the electric radiators to make them intelligent. This control module includes temperature and humidity sensors to analyze heat. In particular, it allows tiko to constantly regulate the heating to maintain a pleasant temperature.
tiko then leaves the hand to the inhabitant. Via the ultra-complete mobile application, he can control all of his radiators and access a plethora of data. In particular, it allows you to create your own heating programs – like a connected thermostat -, to define the temperature room by room, and to carry out planning to the nearest quarter of an hour. Of course, it is possible to program heating scenarios, depending on the season or the needs of the inhabitants.
If in doubt, the tiko application provides advice on properly programming heating, optimizing the daily temperature or good practices to adopt to save on bills.
A gesture for the planet and for you
Obviously, the first interest for the user of such a system is financial. It avoids having to replace expensive radiators and above all, it ensures smarter electricity consumption. A strategy which has a significant impact on invoices since the amount of the latter can drop by 25%.
But economic interest should not make the environmental aspect of the approach invisible. With its connected thermostats, tiko gives a second lease of life to aging electric radiators, which avoids the production of new devices.
Above all, opting for more intelligent heating makes it possible to reduce electricity consumption, and therefore to operate the country’s power plants less. This explains why tiko partnered with Engie and the Electricity Transport Network (RTE) to stabilize the French electricity network.
The French who equip themselves with electric radiators from the tiko solution accept that tiko slightly shifts the heating cycles of the connected radiators in the event of a voltage peak on the electrical network. This is in order to alleviate these tensions and avoid power outages. The impact on comfort is minimal because the temperature difference between the desired and actual temperatures never exceeds 1 degree. This is called the principle of “erasure ». RTE, the Electricity Transmission Network, pays tiko for this service, which allows it to offer its solution 100% free of charge.
There remains the question of private data. Being a Swiss company, tiko is subject to one of the strictest European protection laws. All data collected is anonymous, stored on servers in Switzerland and is only used for research purposes for tiko. This also ensures that no data is sold to a third party. The company also belongs to the Engie group, one of the companies most concerned with cybersecurity and the training of its DPOs. The user can therefore sleep soundly, with a suitable and comfortable temperature.