A new communication protocol - why?
The traditional room thermostat’s on/off controller is inadequately effective in fulfilling the communications needs of modern home heating systems. Consider the following developments for example:

• Modulating central heating appliances
  More and more appliance manufacturers are bringing modulating central heating systems onto the market (see the overview of heating appliances). These appliances offer better efficiency and reduced environmental effects, as well as increased comfort. However, in order to operate these appliances, a communication protocol between the appliance and the controller is required.
• Central heating remote controls
  Central heating remote controls also require a more advanced protocol. The remote control can be used to operate the appliance using the temperature controller in the living room.
• Thermostat information readings
  The same communication channel can be used to read appliance settings and other data like error and malfunction codes.
• Expansion possibilities
  A fourth advantage of using a communication protocol is that in future, the functionality of the system can be expanded by reserving enough space within the protocol for future applications.