As technology advances and major players like Apple and Google step into this market, more consumers are going to start demanding products that can integrate and function in a smart home system. And as consumers start to expect more from their HVAC equipment, they’ll also expect more from their contractor.
After years of sputtering growth, the home energy management (HEM) market has begun to gather momentum, notes Navigant Research. Product vendors, utilities, service providers, retailers, and other stakeholders report increasing activity, and there are signs of growing awareness among consumers.
Daikin North America LLC announced it is working with Nest Labs Inc. to build integrations for its full range of Daikin brand residential products that will allow them to function with Nest products.
Venstar® has announced the release of its new Firmware 3.14 update for its ColorTouch® residential and commercial color touch screen, programmable thermostats. This update delivers added automated demand response (ADR) and equipment fault detection (EFD) in compliance with California’s Title 24.
According to an ON World survey with over 1,000 U.S. adults, over a third believe they will have wireless sensors in their home within five years and 20 percent of the likely adopters expect to have 50 or more wireless sensors installed within the next five years.
GE and Quirky have unveiled seven new connected home products — including a smart HVAC controller designed to replace thermostats — that are available now on the new Wink.com. At the website, consumers can purchase more than 100 Wink-compatible partner products from 15 brands.
Savant®, a leading smart home technology company, has released new survey results that indicate more than half of consumers in the United States believe that home automation will be an everyday feature in less than 10 years.
First introduced in the late 2000s, smart thermostat technology has only recently gained real traction among customers, says Navigant Research. During the last year, the market for communicating and smart thermostats has expanded rapidly, with new offerings from several high-profile providers.
The Thread Group announced that it has opened membership and will begin accepting applications from companies interested in using the Thread protocol in their products. The group was established in July by seven companies to develop Thread, a new IP-based wireless mesh networking protocol designed specifically for the home.
The Wi-Fi-connected ecobee3 thermostat and remote sensors measure temperature and occupancy in multiple locations, resulting in increased comfort when an occupant is home and energy savings when he or she is away.