Shane Cole
Window-mounted air conditioners are the latest appliance to receive a connected home makeover, as crowdsourced invention company Quirky and appliance giant GE have unveiled the new iPhone-compatible Aros smart air conditioning unit.
The $300 Aros integrates intelligent thermostat functionality into a standard window air unit, giving consumers whose homes lack central HVAC systems access to money- and energy-saving features usually reserved for those who can install more permanent solutions like Nest's learning thermostat.
A set of basic touch controls is found on the unit itself, but more advanced functionality can be managed using Quirky's Wink smartphone app. Users can allow the Aros to learn their schedule and adjust cooling settings, for instance, or they can take advantage of their handset's GPS system to turn the unit on or off based on their location.
Budget-conscious consumers can also define a monthly energy quota and have the app alert them when they approach the limit.
The latest product of the six-month-old partnership between Quirky and GE, the Aros is by far the duo's most ambitious project. Previous releases — such as an egg tray that alerts users when eggs are going bad and a multi-purpose environmental sensor that detects motion, sound, light, temperature, and humidity — have attacked specific pain points, but the companies have not addressed core appliances until now.
The Aros is available now from Quirky or Amazon.com, and Quirky says the unit will also be sold in Home Depot retail outlets.
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44 Comments
There goes the $3.2b google spent on Nest.
I'm sure the market will be flooded with these. Lots of folks living in decrepit, 1950's mobile homes with smart devices. (sarcasm)
Who uses a window unit anymore? I haven't seen one of those types of AC in years. Most people with homes will use a central air unit for the whole house. If you only need a small space heated or cooled there have also been ductless units with fuzzy logic, timers, and include remotes for years like these ones. A ductless unit like these seems far preferable to a window unit that puts you at risk for home burglary with easy access to getting in your home. I don't see anything the app can do that you can't already do with standard remotes for a much cheaper price. http://www.homedepot.com/b/Heating-Venting-Cooling-Air-Conditioners-Coolers-Air-Conditioners-Ductless-Mini-Splits/N-5yc1vZc4m1
Who uses a window unit anymore? I haven't seen one of those types of AC in years. Most people with homes will use a central air unit for the whole house. If you only need a small space heated or cooled there have also been ductless units with fuzzy logic, timers, and include remotes for years like these ones. A ductless unit like these seems far preferable to a window unit that puts you at risk for home burglary with easy access to getting in your home. I don't see anything the app can do that you can't already do with standard remotes for a much cheaper price.
http://www.homedepot.com/b/Heating-Venting-Cooling-Air-Conditioners-Coolers-Air-Conditioners-Ductless-Mini-Splits/N-5yc1vZc4m1
I use one it's in my living room and I blow the cool air down the small hall to the bedroom at night, I use the remote when in the living room but when I go into the bedroom it doesn't work, sometimes it's still hot when it's set to go off then I have to get back out of bed and turn it back on then reset the thing to go off again, this would be a great unit for people like me. Also I rent where I live and can't use anything else!
I don't want an app to micromanage everything in my home. An app to control my A/C, an app to control my lighting, an app to control my dog... That's the problem with these things. Everything works well individually, yet nothing gets along.
Give me one app, that let's me monitor all home devices as a cohesive unit. This mixing and matching stuff will get old really fast.