Picture it: you are collecting your things at work and miles away at your home, the range kicks on to make dinner. The air conditioner is notified and lowers the temperature to deliver more cool air to counteract the oven’s extra heat. When you arrive home the lights automatically turn on as you enter, dinner is ready, and your home is at a comfortable temperature.
That’s the goal! And also the kind of advanced home interconnectivity that is accessible now and 2017 could be a pivotal year for advancements in how your home’s HVAC system functions as part of the team.
“Smart phones radically changed our lives in part because they permitted countless apps to make our lives simpler and richer,” said Rob Haines, Marketing Manager for Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning. “We forecast that in 2017, developers will be concentrating on more new apps that let all of your home’s systems and appliances interact versus being siloed, and this will create breakout new advancements in how your home’s heating and air conditioning system work.”
Smart thermostats and sophisticated newer HVAC systems can already send messages to you about energy usage and routine maintenance such as air filter replacement. Future systems may even be able to recognize a possible equipment failure before it happens and notify your heating and cooling repair company to reach out to you and schedule a technician’s visit. The technician will come with advance knowledge about the issue and the needed parts to repair it.
Another on-the-drawing-board vision is the use of infrared heat sensing in the home that will determine which rooms are in use by residents and actually direct heating and cooling specifically to those regions.
“Zoned HVAC systems have been one of the fastest growing parts of the heating and air conditioning industry for many years, and that will remain a large opportunity,” said Haines. “Furthermore, systems will concentrate on heating and cooling specific areas as needed to upgrade comfort and energy efficiency.”
And yes, Haines adds, the millennials are driving the trends for at-home connectivity and more efficient HVAC systems. “As millennials buy their homes, they require their home systems like heating and air conditioning to not only do what they are told, but to observe and modify themselves and to proactively send notifications to the homeowner. We also see that the millennials and Generation X are much more sophisticated about energy efficiency and those consequences of their HVAC systems.”
While February is the right time to look at trends for the year, it’s also a fantastic time to benefit from savings that will pay off in the future. Currently many Service Experts centers are offering free or deeply discounted equipment when you purchase a qualifying item, such as a free furnace when you purchase an air conditioner. Heating tune-ups are also deeply discounted just in time for the coldest months of the year. Call Comfort Masters Service Experts in Wheeling today to schedule a no-charge in-home estimate or to set up a Precision tune up to make sure your furnace is ready to keep you comfortable and safe all winter long.