Smart Devices and Home Automation
The term the Internet of Things has been immensely important for multiple industries, but with the advent of home automation and voice assistants, IOT has officially broken into the HVAC industry. The Internet of Things is the function that allows technologies and objects to communicate with one another. The most basic representation of this is home automation, where we can control our lights, door locks, electrical outlets, and blinds right from our smartphone, or using voice assistants like Google Home or Amazon Alexa. Once the input is registered on the device, the information travels to each individual piece of technology, which then responds accordingly.
The good news is that these technologies are all internally managed systems that are completely capable of being installed individually or communicating with other technologies on their own. Understandably, filling a home with smart devices can get expensive. However, homeowners are often attracted to the convenience, ease of use, and potential energy savings that smart HVAC devices offer.
Smart thermostats like ecobee, Nest, and Honeywell T6 Pro adapt to your lifestyle using motion sensors and geofencing. A smart thermostat paired with a compatible home assistant can even use voice commands to adjust the temperature. Honeywell Wi-Fi Water Leak and Freeze Detector use a smartphone app to track humidity and temperatures wherever it is placed and sends an alert when it detects potentially harmful conditions.
The Growth of Energy Efficiency
Energy costs have risen steadily for years and people have been more and more interested in making their homes energy efficient and even self-sustaining. Solar panels have become more popular than ever, and many homes in the US have adopted solar panels as their main source of energy. However, the huge up-front cost of solar panels can be difficult for most homeowners to grasp. With the help of progressively more efficient heating and cooling systems, smart technology has made energy efficiency much more attainable.
As previously mentioned, smart thermostats are designed to optimize the efficiency of an HVAC system while keeping the occupants comfortable. Thermostats can be programmed (or adapt) to turn the system on and off based on when the homeowners are at work or school – this is when the savings really pile up.
Smart Devices in the Field
Smart technology in HVAC goes beyond just inside the customer’s home – it exists in the field as well. Fieldpiece Instruments manufactures a line of professional HVAC test instruments that utilize a service called Job Link. They offer manifolds, clamp meters, and other devices that use Bluetooth to communicate real-time data to the technician’s smartphone or tablet. The technician then uses their Job Link app to assess and diagnose the HVAC system, produce reports, create invoices, and more.
Newer, smarter HVAC systems along with smart field instruments have made repairs, diagnostics, and controls much more streamlined. Many of these systems have predictive maintenance technology baked into them that uses analytics to report when maintenance is required. By understanding this technology, you can quickly assess issues in a client’s system and even help plan routine maintenance appointments, keeping you busy year round.
What This Means For You
With the baby boomer generation on the cusp of retirement and technology improving faster than ever, it has never been more important to stay up to date on trends and tech in HVAC. By staying up to date with the most advanced technology in the industry you can set yourself up to quickly advance your HVAC career. If you want to start a rewarding career with immense room for growth, visit MyHVACJobs.com and let us help you today.