Smart Home Cooling

Every Long Islander knows that 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.

Keeping cool and keeping costs down.

Given the energy required to cool a house, and the fact that electric and gas utility costs in our area are among the nation’s highest, 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 most efficient climate control devices are smart thermostats. Compatible with both Amazon Echo and Google Home, the Nest Learning Thermostat gets to know your comfort habits, then adjusts automatically to maintain a home’s optimal temperature. Studies show that a learning thermostat can save an average of 10% to 12% on heating and up to 15% on cooling costs, which provides homeowners a fast payback on the thermostat’s initial purchase price.

A Nest thermostat provides other advantages:

• They can be set to “away mode” to reduce HVAC output and energy use while you’re away.

• Homeowners can view energy usage, track costs, adjust the thermostat via a smartphone app, and receive smartphone alerts.

• Nest remote sensors can be placed in rooms away from the thermostat to monitor and adjust temperatures throughout the house.

Smart small space air conditioning.

A high-efficiency smart air conditioner can reduce energy costs and provide 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 can be controlled via a smartphone app, Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

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 to:

• Maintain maximum comfort

• Reduce energy usage

• Increase energy savings

• Ultimately lower 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 BTUs, are used to efficiently cool interior spaces from 650 sq. ft. up to 2,000 sq. ft. and offer the benefit of installation flexibility (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 include:

• A precision Comfortwatch Thermostat continuously samples surrounding air to maintain even room temperature.

• “24/7 Scheduler” lets you program up to four temperature changes per day to maximize efficiency.

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!

The news and editorial staff of Newsday had no role in the creation of this content