Keep your Smart Home Cool in the Summer Heat
June 27, 2023
As Texas has been in the grips of triple digit heat with summer just officially started, this could be one for the record books. And with some people lacking or having inadequate air conditioning, they’re scrambling to stay cool — many are turning to alternative ways to keep their homes cool.
I have to admit, smart home technology isn’t always the answer to everyone’s home operations needs. But it’s certainly nice to have options. And smart home technology usually doesn’t disappoint.
So how does smart home technology address excessive heat? You could install a smart thermostat but you’d actually have to turn your air conditioning off to install it. Maybe not an ideal solution right now. Maybe you just need to supplement the air conditioning you already have or add some A/C to your garage so you can work on your car or home improvement projects without melting. There are analog air conditioning units to fit the bill but why not invest your money into something that integrates with your other smart home devices. As I was checking out smart air conditioners, I discovered they come in two different formats. Beyond figuring out which format is best for your home, there are a few other things to consider.
Window-mounted and portable are the two most common designs for smart air conditioners. As you’d expect, window-mounted units are the ones that sit on the frame of your window and are visible from both inside and outside your home. These are great if you don’t have floor space to spare.
Portable designs are typically larger than window-mounted units and sit on your floor with an exhaust vent running to a nearby window. Portable may be a bit of a misnomer as they’re not that easy to move them from room to room — but you can wheel them a few feet or change their direction to better cool your home.
Technically, portable air conditioners are more convenient to move around your home than window-mounted units, but you’ll still need to go through a fairly lengthy process to move them from one location to another. So, if you aren’t sure about the window option or plan to move your air conditioner, you’ll want to look at portable models.
Once you’ve decided which format fits your needs, you’ll want to consider the space you’re trying to cool. Smart air conditioners are rated for different spaces, so you’ll want to find a size rating that will work best with the room you’re looking to cool. Portable units work best for larger spaces, but you can find decent options for most room sizes in both formats.
After you make the right smart air conditioner format decision, there are plenty of other factors to consider. The real smart aspect to consider for me is whether the unit supports voice assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Surprisingly, support for Apple Homekit is rare with smart air conditioners.
Voice assistant integration gives the option for on-demand cooling and integrations with other smart home devices to automate things like cooling based on temperature sensors. This also tends to make them more expensive however. Another handy smart aspect is if it comes with a companion app for convenient additional controls and scheduling.
Some newer A/C units have WiFi options for voice and remote control, but buying an entirely new air conditioner for that feature doesn’t make sense if the old one works fine and is energy efficient. So the next best thing is to make your dumb A/C smart by adding a smart plug. With a smart plug, you can use an app or voice control to turn on and off any air conditioner in your home. And you can power them on remotely when you’re on the way home, so your home is cool when you arrive.
Smart plugs are inexpensive, ranging from $15 to $30, and can be ZigBee, Z-Wave, WiFi or Bluetooth based. But, not every A/C unit is compatible with smart switches, so the first thing you should do is check if yours will work with smart plugs.
Other not-so-smart aspects to consider are cost, how loud it is while operating and the overall look of the air conditioner. Believe it or not, some air conditioners are not exactly elegantly designed. You can technically use a smart plug with an air conditioner but it’s worth noting that a smart plug will only turn your A/C unit on or off and has no way to directly control other features on the unit.
From a cost perspective, window air conditioners generally range from $200 to $500. And they tend to last a long time — it’s not uncommon to see them work for five to ten years. Smart air conditioners, window or portable will run you from $259 to $629 usually.
Doing a little homework will make it easy to find a smart air conditioner that checks all the right boxes for your needs.
Hopefully some of the insights here are helpful if you’re looking to add some ‘cool’ to your living space. If you already have a smart air conditioner, what were the reasons you chose it — price, portability, capabilities? Are you thinking about making your analog A/C unit smart?
Let Debbie and I know in the comments, DMs and emails as we really enjoy hearing from you. Thanks again to all those following Debbie and I through our home building journey. It’s great to hear your success stories and suggestions as we move through the process. And if you like the content I’m posting each week, don’t forget to ‘Like’ and ‘Follow.’
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