Smart Home Cooling

Weather is a huge factor in daily life, and staying comfortable during those inevitable summer heat waves can mean high energy consumption and pricey energy bills. One of the best ways to maximize efficiency in home cooling is with smart products, and P.C. Richard & Son offers a variety of devices that can help make your home's climate control devices operate as efficiently as possible. Here are some of our favorites!

Keeping Cool and Keeping Costs Down

Given the energy required to cool a house, air conditioning is typically a home's biggest summer season expense. There are several strategies for reducing this cost, including making your home more efficient with new "smart" products.

One of the smartest and most efficient climate control devices are smart thermostats, such as the Nest Learning Thermostat. Compatible with both Amazon Echo and Google Home voice-control networks, this device gets to know your comfort habits, then adjusts automatically to maintain a home's optimal temperature. It's easy to program, and any automation can be overridden with a simple voice command. Studies show that a learning thermostat can save an average of 10 to 12 percent on heating and up to 15 percent on cooling costs, which provides homeowners a fast payback on the thermostat's initial purchase price.

The convenience benefits of owning a smart thermostat provide other advantages. Nest offers remote sensors that can be placed in rooms away from the thermostat to monitor and adjust temperatures throughout the house. Nest thermostats can be set to "vacation mode" to reduce HVAC output and energy use while you're away. With a Nest thermostat, homeowners can view energy usage, track costs, adjust the thermostat via a smartphone app, and receive smartphone alerts if something at home goes amiss.

A Nest thermostat can be linked to Nest Protect Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detectors. If a fire, furnace malfunction or gas leak occurs, these smart smoke detectors sound an audio alarm and alert you via a smartphone app. They will also signal the thermostat to shut down the home's furnace or blower fan to limit any danger. Nest offers other system components that add value, such as linked interior and exterior security cameras.

Smart Small Space Air Conditioning

Need to cool a small space in your home? A high-efficiency smart air conditioner can reduce energy costs and provide similar convenience benefits to whole-house systems. Wi-Fi enabled Frigidaire Gallery 8,000 and 10,000 BTU Window Air Conditioners are ideal for cooling rooms up to 450 square feet. They are also Energy Star-certified to use less energy than standard air conditioners, and they can be controlled via a smartphone app or through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant voice-control networks. The Frigidaire Smart App also lets you stay informed with up-to-date product alerts, such as when to clean filters and other important notifications.

Running your AC only when needed, or by presetting custom schedules will help increase efficiency and save money. With the Frigidaire units' Sleep Mode, room temperatures can be preset to gradually increase a few degrees during the night. This maintains maximum comfort and also increases energy savings, reduces energy usage, and ultimately lowers your utility bills.

Smart Large Space Air Conditioning

The Friedrich Kuhl line of Window/Wall Slide-Out Air Conditioners, available in sizes that range from 5,800 to 36,000 BTU units, are used to efficiently cool interior spaces from 650 up to 2,000 sq. ft. These air conditioners offer the additional benefit of installation flexibility, as they can be window-mounted or permanently installed.

A digital remote control is included with each unit, or you can add the optional FriedrichLink Wi-Fi module to command your air conditioner from any compatible smart device. Advanced features built into Friedrich Kuhl air conditioners include a precision Comfortwatch Thermostat that continuously samples surrounding air to maintain even room temperature, and a "24/7 Scheduler" that lets you program up to four temperature changes per day to maximize efficiency and work with your schedule.

Make Any Cooling Option Smart

Fans and portable or window air conditioners are easy to integrate into a Smart Home system with an inexpensive smart plug like those available from Belkin WeMo . These devices plug into ordinary household electrical outlets, allowing a voice-assist hub or a smartphone app to control operation and out-of-home scheduling of traditional appliances.

Ready to use smart technology to stay cool and save energy?  Let the experts at P.C. Richard & Son help you build your Smart Home network today!