When I was a kid my parents brought the first Air Conditioner in our house.
For me, it was a smart household appliance at that time.
I never thought that after 10 years, I’ll be writing an article on “How to make your air conditioner smart?”.
What an irony?
Well, I’m not an individual who will want to dump the old air conditioner if I’ve got an option to make it smart.
Let me know your thought on it.
Most of my clients are interested in making their old household appliances smart rather than going for a new one.
Recently I wrote an article on how to make your old ceiling fan smart?
Again, I wrote it because one of my clients was looking for a solution.
Before I start discussing the solution, I would request you to allow me to throw some light on important things that can influence the final outcome.
It is very important for you to understand these three things that I’m gonna talk about now.
It will give you a clear view of the importance of converting the old air conditioner into a smart one.
SEER Ratings
First and foremost, most of us want to save money.
Well, the amount of money that you’ll save will literally shock you.
Don’t believe my words?
My old air conditioner has a SEER rating of 9.
Check your air conditioner SEER rating and let us know in the comment section.
Can you guess the SEER rating of a smart air conditioner?
You can achieve a SEER rating of 23.
If I talk about the United State, you need to have a minimum SEER rating of 13 for the air conditioner manufactured after 2005.
If you own window units, then there is a piece of good news for you. The window units are exempted from the law.
I know what’s going in your mind.
It is an altogether different thing that very few people pay attention to it.
Saving Money
You’ll not believe but it’s true that 90 percent of my clients don’t have any idea about the SEER rating.
Sometimes, it’s really important to educate your clients about the basics of smart home automation.
By doing so, you can gain the trust of your clients.
As I mentioned earlier, I was having an air conditioner which had a SEER rating of 9.
I didn’t wanna change my air conditioner, and so to follow the minimum criteria of the United State, I upgraded it to the SEER rating of 13.
Can you guess the amount of money I saved by doing so?
Well, I reduced the power consumption by 27.63 percent which helped me to save $289 the very first year.
So, I hope you’ll also agree that it’s worth considering and you can also save hundreds of dollars.
Smart Plugs
Until a few months back, I had a couple of old airconditioner laying around my home.
In the summer, at least three of the air conditioner are put to use.
I moved to a smart plug because it gave me the feasibility to control my AC using voice assistants such as Alexa or Google Home.
The process is very simple.
You just need to plug in the AC unit into the smart plug.
Some smart plug comes with an option to control the AC using an app.
The smart plugs are one of the cheapest yet effective option for window AC.
Smart AC Controllers
People looking for more flexibility and control can try smart AC controller.
You can use WiFi for control.
Needless to say, you can save a good amount of energy as well.
I recommend these smart AC controllers to those who are looking for remote-controlled AC.
In fact, they provide seven-day scheduling and location-based geofencing which can be easily controlled through an app on your smartphone.
What more you want?
Wait!
They are also compatible with Google Home, Alexa or IFTTT.
Whether you’ve got a split Air Conditioner or window air conditioner, it will work fine in both cases.
If you’re not used to a humid environment, then I’ve got a piece of good news for you.
The hub also has a built-in humid control.
Tado, Sensibo are among the companies that manufacture this product.
Well, you can go ahead and invest in the product if you’re looking for some more control.
(check the current price on Amazon)
Smart Air Conditioners
If you’re the one who loves to buy the latest technology, then you should buy a new Wi-Fi connected room air conditioner.
Frigidaire Cool Connect smart window conditioner can be a great option for you.
They come with their own app for the direct control of the AC.
They will definitely save you the power because the SEER rating is around 12.
In case, you’re allergic to indoor pollutants, then the aforementioned brand can definitely help you to get rid of it because they come with a built-in air ionizer.
I’m a frequent user of Frigidaire AC. Trust me, it’s a value-for-money product.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for an AC that can help you to get rid of the humidity, then I would recommend you to try the newest LG model that comes with the built-in dehumidification function.
I hope you would have definitely guessed the model. It’s so popular nowadays.
Well, it’s an LG Electronics LP1415WXRSM. It offers 14,000 BTU’s.
Smart Thermostats
If you’re one of the luckiest people who doesn’t have to deal with the problems that are associated with the windows and portable AC, then this section is for you.
Well, there is no point in guessing it right.
We’ll be discussing what you need to do if you’ve central air conditioning.
The best thing that you can do for yourself is to go out and buy an Ecobee or a Nest thermostat for you.
It not only offers you some idiosyncratic features but also, saves you money.
Furthermore, It’s obvious that there will be an exponential increase in comfort.
Once you’ve got a smart thermostat, you don’t need to worry about air filters or tracking your energy usages.
I really love the features like system diagnostic and beautiful customizable faceplates.
The overall functionality and uniqueness of these smart thermostats leave the traditional thermostat far behind.
There has been a tremendous increase in the demand for a smart thermostat.
The Ecobee Thermostats comes with built-in Alexa features and that makes it very unique and user-friendly.
CONCLUSION
I hope you would have definitely liked the steps that I shared in this post to convert the traditional AC into a smart one.
However, the method you’re planning to select will depend to a large extent on what you want to accomplish at the end of the day.
Can you do it yourself?
Definitely, YES
In most of the cases, I’ve found that my clients are REALLY happy to plugin into the smart plug.
Nonetheless, I recommend that the selection of a method to convert a dumb AC into a smart one should to a large extent depends upon the amount of control you want to have on the device.
Last but not least, it has saved hundreds of dollars for me, and I hope it will save money for you as well.
