How to make your Heating 🔥 and Cooling ❄️ Smart Home Ready 🏠 with Smart Climate Control!

How to make your Heating 🔥 and Cooling ❄️ Smart Home Ready 🏠 with Smart Climate Control!

Climate Control Special

Climate Control Solutions on offer in Australia

 

What are the most common types of climate control?
In Australia we have a completely deregulated environment when it comes to climate control, meaning there are lots of different options on the market.

Making them Smart
Once you know what you're dealing with, how do we integrate the system into a Smart Home offering?

What are the benifits
Need some stats and figures into Smart Climate Control Solutions? Here is a taste

Having a Smart Climate Control Solution means that you can maintain a comfortable temperature while saving bucket loads of money in utility bills AND live in a more eco-friendly home.

What are the Most Common type of Climate Control?
Split systems, HVAC, ducted, multi units...it can all get very confusing when you spend a bit of time looking at all the different types of climate control solutions available in Australia. As the market place is not regulated, almost every single company has a solution which will suit almost every single home. We are not going to be discussing the brands here, rather we will share with you the most common types of systems you may come across when working in the field.
The most common types of systems are:

  • Split Systems
  • Multi Split Systems
  • Ducted Air Conditioning

 

 Split System Air Conditioners
Split System Air Conditioners are designed for individual areas in a home. With a Split System, the compressor is installed outside the house and the unit that passes air into the house is usually discreetly wall mounted. They are commonly controlled by hand held IR remote controls.

Multi Split System Air Conditioners
A Multi Split Air Conditioner lets you run multiple air conditioners with just one outside compressor, giving you independent temperature control over each room. As with regular split systems, the indoor units can be wall mounted, but may also be ceiling mounted or bulkhead mounted. They can be controlled by either IR remote controls or a wall controller/thermostat.

Ducted Air Conditioning Systems
Ducted Air Conditioning systems are different in that they comprise of multiple key parts. There is usually an outdoor unit and an indoor unit concealed in either the ceiling or under the floor, with flexible ducting distributing conditioned air via vents throughout your home. These vents can be ceiling, wall or floor mounted. They are usually controlled via a wall controller/thermostat.


There are more climate control solutions out there, like evaporative and gas ducted systems, however we have chosen to focus on the most common. If you come across a home with a system which you are unfamiliar with, please get in touch with us and we will assist you as best we can.

Making them Smart
Once you have identified what type of climate control system you are dealing with, it makes sense to find the correct Smart Home solution to match it. Below we will dive into every product we offer and tell you which of the above systems it will work with. There are two wireless solutions and two wired solutions.

Click on each of the headings below to learn more about the products. 

REMOTEC Z-Wave A/C Controller

Remotec Z-Wave AC Controller (Wireless)
The ZXT600s a ZWave-to-IR bridge which controls Split System Units by receiving commands from your Home Automation Gateway in Z-Wave and translates them to IR before sending them to the split system unit. Using its own built in library, it can communicate with a large variety of brands and model numbers. It can be powered by USB, 5V DC or 2xAA batteries. It will work with both Vera and Fibaro gateways.
INTESIS Toshiba VRF Adapter
Intesis Home Adapters (Wireless)
Intesis is a brand-specific adapter which wires into the on-wall controller/thermostat and then communicates via Wi-Fi to your gateway. It is designed for Ducted Systems by Daikin, Mistubishi, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Panasonic and Toshiba. Seeing as it uses  Wi-Fi, it will only work with Vera Plus gateways. However, if you use ELAN, Control4, Crestron, Iridium, AMX or RTI, we also have drivers available for you.

Cool Automation CoolMaster Net (Wired)
CoolMaster Net is a custom solution for those homes which may have multiple different systems in one home. It is designed to bring them all together into one platform. It wires into the existing thermostats and then connects to your router via ethernet. This will then allow access from your gateway. It works best with Fibaro but also works with Control4, Crestron, AMX, RTI, Savant and Vantage.

Cool Automation CoolLink Hub & CoolPlugs (Wired)
CoolLink Hub and the brand-specific CoolPlugs are designed for the integration of Multi Split Systems. The plugs wire into the indoor units and the Hub, and then the Hub connects to your router via ethernet. This will then allow access from your gateway. It works best with Fibaro but also Push, Control 4, Savant, Lutron, ELAN, Philips Dynalite, RTI, URC and many others.

What are the Benefits?
So why would you want to make their climate control smart? Here are seven reasons:

  1. Set your room temperature before you arrive home.
  2. Automate your system so that you don't need to keep adjusting temperatures or functions.
  3. Remotely switch off your system if you forgot to switch it off before you left home.
  4. Easily set up scenes or programs yourself without having to learn how to code or call a specialist to set it all up.
  5. Visualize your energy consumption and costs all via the Smart Home gateway.
  6. Save energy and therefore have a more environmentally friendly home.
  7. Home Automation is scalable, meaning you can expand it to include many other areas of your home (lighting, security, blinds etc)

As you can see, it makes sense to include Climate Control into any smart home system. You just need to confirm what type of climate control system they use and then which integration solution will fit it best.

Can't find what you are looking for? Send us an email: info@ozsmartthings.com.au

 

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