Some interesting replies .
I've just fitted a smart thermostat onto our oil boiler which gives much more control to our CH system.
One of the unfortunate side effects of my wife's recent stroke is that her left side always "feels " cold although her body is at an equal temp. It's just an issue with her brain's calibration of the skin temp. sensors .
The smart system allows her to turn on /increase /decrease /switch off the CH system wherever she is in the house .?………….
We have a smart thermostat and as you say, it gives you far more control over the heating/hot water from anywhere. We have the Hive system (the choice was either Hive or Nest and Nest looked more complicated
) The Hive system is a very easy system to use and can be controlled from either the thermostat, voice commands or a smart phone, so you can turn the heating down when you are out and turn it back up before you get home.
You can also add smart door cameras/doorbell/lights etc but we already had those so I didn’t need them. Very handy for someone with disabilities and the less mobile. Hope your wife is making progress.