Best Smart Air Conditioner Controller

Technology and connectivity is making life more convenient for everyone. Smart air conditioner controllers are allowing people to control their appliances remotely. The ability to turn on your air conditioner, from your smartphone, while on the bus, so your home is the perfect temperature when you arrive, is convenience and technology doing something right.

This article will educate you all about smart controllers, such as the Airtouch 5 and the Actron Neo, why they’re a good idea for you and your lifestyle, and how they save you money on your energy bills. The team at Simplyair can set you up with smart air conditioning to help keep your home at the perfect temperature all year round.

Which smart AC controllers do we recommend?

Simplyair knows all about cooling and heating, the best systems to suit your home and the best controllers for those systems. We’ve put our stamp of approval on two controllers. Let’s look at them now:

Airtouch 5

The Airtouch 5 is a WIFI and App enabled air conditioning controller with zone control. Anyone, anywhere in your home, can adjust the temperature to suit them. If there is no one in the bedrooms, you can shut them off and save the cool air for the family zones.

Smart control helps save money in a number of ways.

• The zoning allows you to focus your cool air where you want it.
• The App can help you turn your cooling off.
• You can pre-cool your home while you’re out and on the run.

There are a number of style options to fit your decor so the unit doesn’t look out of place in your home.

Actron Neo

You have a whole-house system with the Actron Neo. Master controller, sensors for other rooms in the house, zone controls and a mobile app. This is an easy to use control platform with some nice design features.

The remote controllability of this system allows for saving on your energy bills.

• Only cool the zones in your home where people are relaxing.
• Cool your home remotely so it is the perfect temperature when you get home from work or the shops.
• WIth the Zone Sensor you can adjust airflow for individual rooms.

The Actron Neo has some cool little design features too. LED wall glow lights can tell you what function is active without you having to leave the comfort of the couch. If it has a green light glowing around it, it means only the fan is on, blowing around the air, rather than cooling it. This helps save energy, and hence saving money on your bill, and also helps the environment.

What is a smart air conditioner controller and how does it work?

A smart air controller is a touch screen device that connects to your installed air conditioner. It has easy to read screens and intuitive navigation menus making it easy to set up your home to be the perfect temperature.

There are different ways smart controllers connect with an air conditioner. If you have a remote controlled air con, then you can link your new smart controller via infrared. Alternatively your smart controller will be paired with your air conditioner. Much like your phone will detect devices through BlueTooth, your smart controller will search for and discover your air conditioner. It then takes a few moments to pair with the unit, and then you’re ready to go.

Most new installations of air conditioners are able to be paired with smart controllers. If you have an older model, ask your technician if it is possible to connect a smart controller or not.

While air conditioners may have the functionality you’re looking for, it can be tricky deciphering the menus and buttons on the unit itself. And if it is mounted high on a wall, it is possibly difficult to reach. Smart controllers are positioned within easy reach, so you can access all these functions easily. A sleep timer, so you can go to bed and the air con will turn off automatically. Timer Start, so the house can cool down before you’re home. Some units can monitor what the weather outside is, compared to inside, and automatically set the perfect temperature for both comfort and economic use of energy.

The smart controller is a touch screen, which almost everyone is used to these days. Click and drag your finger to change the temperature, easily touch on the zone icons to activate or deactivate. Smart air conditioner controllers make your life, and keeping cool, so much easier.

Can I Control My Air Con with My Phone?

Yes you can. For both of the smart controllers we endorse, there is a matching smartphone app which mirrors the controls and options of the home unit. Multiple people in the same house can download the app to help control the temperature in their own zones of the house.

3-Steps to make your Air Conditioner Smart.

If your current air conditioning system is not a smart system, there is a 3-step process to upgrade and make it so. Simplyair can help you turn your home cooling system smart.

1. Find the Best Smart AC Controller for Your Cooling System.
   The Airtouch 5 and Actron Neo are our recommended AC controllers. They are powerful, with a suite of functions and controls, they connect to WIFI and your smart devices, and look stylish as well. If you find another brand and are curious to know if it will sync with your air conditioner, you can speak with our experts who will advise you if they’re compatible or not.
2. ‘Install’ The Smart AC Controller
   Mount the smart AC controller on the wall close to your air conditioner. You can’t have any walls or blockages between your AC smart controller and the AC unit, as this will block the signal between the two.
3. Pair Your Smart AC Controller
   From the Smart AC controller, “find” your air conditioner and pair them up. Once that has happened, you can do things like set your perfect temperature as default, program some timers into the system, and set up your home to be cooled in a smart and energy efficient way.

Benefits of Smart AC Control

There are many benefits for you, your budget and your lifestyle, by making your air conditioning a smart system. Here are some of the best benefits you’ll get when you install smart control systems:

• Remote Temperature Control. If you’re out shopping, you can open the app on your smartphone, set the temperature for your air conditioner, turn it on, and then walk into a cool home. We recommend a temperature that is about 8 degrees cooler than the outside world. This is both comfortable and energy efficient.
• AC Scheduling. If you arrive home from work around 6 pm every day, you can set up a schedule so your air conditioner begins cooling your home, slowly, an hour before you arrive home. You can also schedule it to turn itself off at night. This means you can go to sleep in a cool house, but it will turn itself off, saving power.
• Energy Conservation. By only using the air conditioner when someone is home, and not on an empty house, you will save on energy consumption. This is both good for the environment and good for your back pocket.
• Alerts. With your smart controller connected to WIFI, it can receive weather alerts, telling you if and when it’s going to be a scorcher of a day. This helps plan your cooling schedule, and can help you choose your outfit if you need to venture forth into the blistering sun. You can also have alerts when efficiency is low and your air conditioner is struggling to cope. This can impact your bill savings, so it is good to know.
• Track Your AC Usage. Understanding when you use your air conditioner the most can help with saving money. It can help you predict your power bills by knowing how many kWh were used by your air conditioner. If you have solar panels, you can see the crossover when your air conditioner was using solar power, to when it was using power off the grid. This, too, can help calculate your power bills.
• Zones. Your home can be broken into zones. The family area, eating area, the bedrooms, and so forth. If no one is in the bedroom zone there is not much point in cooling them. Zone control can have you saving money on your energy bills through not cooling parts of your home that don’t need it. Alternatively, you can set zones to be different temperatures. Perhaps your family room gets more heat in summer due to being north facing. You can have colder temperatures here, and not so cold down the back of the house.
• Geo fencing. With your mobile device connected to the unit, and with location data on, when your phone moves a certain distance from the AC control unit, it crosses an imaginary fence line. This tells the smart controller you’re not home, and so it can turn the air conditioner off. The reverse is also true, in that when the unit detects your phone approaching the house, it can automatically turn on to your preferred temperature.
• Shared Access. Anyone with a smartphone can have access to the controls. This allows family members in a zone to set the temperature to suit themselves. It also allows anyone out and about to turn on the air conditioner for when they return.
• Connect to other home automation. The smart air conditioner controller can be a piece in the connected household. You can have Alexa or Siri controlling your air conditioner through voice controls or your already-installed apps. This further enhances your conveniences and level of control over your home.

Is my air con unit compatible with smart controls?

Most air conditioners these days have a remote control which you point at the unit to turn on and adjust the temperature. If you have one of these then your unit is compatible with smart controls.

You will need to mount your smart control main unit in a place where the infrared signal between the control and the AC unit can reach each other – no blockages such as walls or doors.

If you’re still in doubt if you can upgrade your air conditioning to a smart system, the team at Simplyair can investigate and help you out.

Types of Units

There are two main types of units for home cooling, being high-wall or split-systems, and ducted air conditioners. Each has their benefits for being turned into smart systems.

• High-Wall or Room Air Conditioners. Because you have one unit for a room, having multiple units throughout the house makes zone control particularly excellent. Each wall-mounted unit can be controlled separately from the main smart control or your phone app, for some customised comfort throughout the house. These wall units usually have remotes as standard, which makes them easily convertible to a smart home system.
• Ducted Air Conditioners. You will have one central control point for ducted air conditioning, which is an easy smart solution. Have this unit close to the WIFI point in your house for the best control connectivity. You can have zones with ducted cooling, it’s a little more involved, however. You need to control the flow of air through the ducts in your roof, which would require ‘zone dampers’. They open and close within the ducts to help control the flow of air to the required zones.

Smart controls for your home are convenient to use and can help you save money on your home energy bills. Being able to remotely activate your cooling, designating zones to activate only when they’re in use, are all great. And the ability to do all this with a smartphone app is so incredibly convenient.

If you’re looking at installing a smart air conditioning system, or want to see if your current setup is compatible with being made into a smart system, get in touch with us today and we can help upgrade your home and save money on your energy bills.