British Gas customers can turn up the heat using their mobile

UK start-up AlertMe.com on Monday announced an agreement to test a service that will allow British Gas New Energy consumers to control their home heating systems from the web or mobile phone.

AlertMe makes a home energy-monitoring system built around a Zigbee home-area network. A cube-shaped hub acts as a central control point and separate devices, including smart plugs, communicate with the hub.

The British Gas trial, which is expected to be available by the end of the year, is designed to allow people to program their home heating systems to shave down their bills.

People can view consumption data via a website and change settings from a mobile phone. For example, a person can turn on the heat remotely via phone or change the settings for when on holiday using a key fob.

AlertMe, which raised £8m in venture capital earlier this year, is developing a system for controlling home electricity use and home security systems as well.

There is a growing number of home energy monitoring tools to give people more detailed information so they can reduce consumption or control their appliances.

Rather than rely on smart meters as a communications gateway, AlertMe's hub connects to the internet and smart plugs transfer data to the hub.

Original article: AlertMe to trial home energy management in U.K. from CNET News.com