According to their name, smart-home systems aim to be, well, smart. However, for all the benefits they offer owners, there’s still a bit of legwork required by users to get their setup exactly as desired. This extra legwork is exactly what the energy management and automation company Schneider Electric hopes to curb after unveiling the new Eco IQ, smart-learning feature native to Wiser Air smart thermostat.
Instead of requiring owners to constantly input desired temperature points, Eco IQ only needs an input of when users are uncomfortable and makes necessary changes on its own.
Aside from most commercial smart thermostats that require frequent alterations, Schneider Electric also noticed how many users have a hard time properly making use of their systems to conserve energy. Though many of these same systems come programmed to abide by certain energy-saving schedules, owners tend to override these programs to meet their needs. With Eco IQ, the Wiser Air thermostat creates optimal environments and maximizes energy savings over the course of an entire day, no matter if the homeowners is out of the house or sitting in their living room.
“Created by building automation and HVAC experts at Schneider Electric, Eco IQ is the most advanced self-learning algorithm on the market today,” said Schneider Electric engineer, fellow, and senior group expert Paul Buda. “With Eco IQ, Wiser Air challenges the very idea of set points — commonly used as a determining factor of user comfort in other solutions — freeing users from the need to set temperatures and schedules.”
To make Eco IQ even smarter, Schneider Electric has also partnered its innovative WeatherSentry weather service with the feature to accurately forecast area weather and temperature changes. For the past nine years, WeatherSentry has been dubbed the number-one forecasting service, with major airlines, sports teams, and utilities companies relying on it for up-to-the-second updates. Concerning its collaboration with Eco IQ, WeatherSentry allows the system to know exactly how long it would take to cool or heat a home depending on the outdoor conditions and plans ahead to assure a home’s environment stays near its target temperature.
The Wiser Air smart thermostat itself is plug-and-play device boasting a 3.5-inch color touchscreen that features almost no learning curve for new users. Available via brick and mortar Microsoft Stores or online at Home Depot, Amazon, Best Buy, and others, Wiser Air — and its new Eco IQ companion — also plans to feature the ability to sync with Amazon’s Alexa in the future for voice commands.
