The Smart Installer Club has developed a simple step-by-step guide to help you explain the benefits of smart thermostats to your customers. Peter Northwood, director at HomeServe Alliance, the company behind the Smart Installer Club, explains.

1. Understand if heating bills are an issue for customers.
Find out what concerns the customer has over their heating. Have they noticed an increase in their energy bills and does this worry them? Are their heating bills becoming too costly to sustain? Are they looking for ways to reduce their bills each month?

2. Ask customers about their plans to reduce bills.
What are they doing to try to reduce their heating bills? Are they avoiding turning the heating on until the weather gets really cold? Are they rationing the heating over the cold winter months? Is this working? Are they aware of how much heating they are actually using /saving by using these approaches? Very often, the answer to this last question is 'no', which leads you on to what options they have to effectively reduce their heating bills for the long-term.

3. Discuss the cost-saving options available.
It is worth highlighting to customers where they can avoid wasting energy, for example, taking extra care to ensure the heating is never on when the home is empty. Perhaps they would prefer to install a new, more energy efficient boiler, which could potentially save them over £300 a year in running costs? Or, are they aware of the benefits of installing a smart thermostat in their home?

Customers are increasingly recognising that having an 'intelligent' home will allow them to reduce energy use and save money. Demand for smart thermostats is high and homeowners are looking to installers for advice on these devices. Following the initial investment of £100 to £200, there are considerable savings to be made in the long run. With a smart thermostat, you can use your phone or tablet to turn off the heating when you are out of the house.

4. Run through the different types of smart thermostats.
Some smart controls are simply remote controls, while others are much more intelligent, getting to know customers' homes and learning how to heat them up most efficiently.

5. Reassure them of the simple installation and significant cost-saving potential.
Installing smart thermostats are pretty straightforward, in fact not entirely different to fitting other controls. Once installed, one of the main benefits is that customers should be able to recover the cost within 12 months. Consider the low cost investment, speedy payback and the convenience of a quick, simple and tidy wireless installation - a win for installers as well as customers. Offering another product to customers - one that can help them save money - is a great way to turn more boiler installation estimates into jobs.

The Smart Installer Club is a free club set up to provide independent installers with information and advice. It also offers a helpline to support with product queries and installations. Through the club, installers can purchase wholesale smart thermostats and download free product guides. Visit www.smartinstallers.co.uk for more information.