AN award-winning Huntingdonshire company will this week launch an intelligent radiator valve that can cut heating bills by at least 20 percent and, in some cases, more than 30 per cent.

Hail Weston-based Tensor plc, which produces highly-sophisticated entry systems and other security devices, five years ago set up a subsidiary called HeatingSave to market an application of the same technology to heating and lighting systems.

The product, also called HeatingSave, learns patterns of usage of a home, office or other workplace, and heats and lights only those parts of the building that are likely to be in use at any given time of day or week.

The development took the Innovation Award in The Hunts Post Huntingdonshire Business Awards to Hail Weston House.

This week it has launched a further refinement of the system – a new radiator valve called HeatSave that is claimed to cut gas and oil heating bills by at least 20 per cent.

The unit is mainly designed as a retro-fit to heating systems, where it replaces an existing thermostatic radiator valve head (TRV). HeatSave will work with TRVs made by Drayton, Honeywell, Landis & Gyr, Myson and many other makes.

“HeatSave is a simple DIY installation,” according to group chairman Nigel Smith, who founded Tensor more than 20 years ago.

“Firstly, unscrew, by hand the existing TRV head and replace it with the HeatSave wireless unit. Then, push the button on the HeatSave head to let it ‘find’, wirelessly, your PC or laptop. The software on your PC or laptop allows you to upload your heating patterns and holidays to each individual radiator so that you can program or zone the heating differently for each room in your house or office.

“This means that you heat only the rooms you want at the times when people are using them, thereby dramatically cutting the amount of fuel needed to heat your home or business.”

Each of the intelligent replacement valves costs �69 incl. VAT, which the company says is soon recovered in lower heating bills.

“At the touch of a button you can turn down the heating in rooms that you’re not using,” Mr Smith added. “Also plan up to four years in advance for holidays and times when the heating will be different, by using the heating diary. A ‘hands on” override button on the valve means quick changes are easy from within the room.”

INFORMATION: HeatSave is available on-line at www.heat-save.com