Alarm.com–one of the major players in the smart home arena–just received the Consumer Electronics Association's (CEA) Mark of Excellence Award for Energy-Efficient Product of the Year. The technology uses your location in conjunction with a smart thermostat to make automation a no-brainer, literally. It automatically optimizes for savings when you are away and for comfort when you are home, so you don't have to lift a finger. Sure, we've all heard about geo-fencing, but this application makes it real to a lot of consumers using the Alarm.com platform.
According to Alarm.com, while most smart thermostats guess about activity around the house by looking into one room, this technology analyzes a variety of data to optimize energy management. If you are an Alarm.com subscriber (which you must be to use the service) you opt-in by enrolling your smart phone. Provided you don't leave your phone at home, your casa will adjust to save energy when you leave and readjust to a comfortable temp before you return. You don't have to pull your phone out or even open an app. Another cool feature is that Geo-Services recognizes multiple smart phones so automations are made with the entire family in mind, and it's integrated into the Alarm.com services platform to deliver custom security alerts and video monitoring.
"Our Geo-Services feature is unique because it's integrated into our connected home platform, so in addition to automating the thermostat it can also send you reminders when you leave your home. For example, if I forget to arm the security system or close the garage door, my home will send me a reminder as I'm driving away," says Alarm.com's Matt Zartman.
Alarm.com uses thermodynamic modeling to determine how your home heats and cools. This helps to create more efficient geo-fences that create opportunities to save money and energy while also ensuring that the home is always comfortable upon return. One of the best things about Alarm.com's Geo-Services technology is that it can integrate with any Z-Wave thermostat, eliminating compatibility issues altogether. The service will launch later this quarter, and the new app will give Alarm.com subscribers more fine-tuned control over Geo-Services settings.
"Driving automations based on location is a clear advantage for efficiency over smart thermostats that look into a single room of the home and guess about occupancy," says Zartman.
According to Alarm.com, while most smart thermostats guess about activity around the house by looking into one room, this technology analyzes a variety of data to optimize energy management. If you are an Alarm.com subscriber (which you must be to use the service) you opt-in by enrolling your smart phone. Provided you don't leave your phone at home, your casa will adjust to save energy when you leave and readjust to a comfortable temp before you return. You don't have to pull your phone out or even open an app. Another cool feature is that Geo-Services recognizes multiple smart phones so automations are made with the entire family in mind, and it's integrated into the Alarm.com services platform to deliver custom security alerts and video monitoring.
"Our Geo-Services feature is unique because it's integrated into our connected home platform, so in addition to automating the thermostat it can also send you reminders when you leave your home. For example, if I forget to arm the security system or close the garage door, my home will send me a reminder as I'm driving away," says Alarm.com's Matt Zartman.
Alarm.com uses thermodynamic modeling to determine how your home heats and cools. This helps to create more efficient geo-fences that create opportunities to save money and energy while also ensuring that the home is always comfortable upon return. One of the best things about Alarm.com's Geo-Services technology is that it can integrate with any Z-Wave thermostat, eliminating compatibility issues altogether. The service will launch later this quarter, and the new app will give Alarm.com subscribers more fine-tuned control over Geo-Services settings.
"Driving automations based on location is a clear advantage for efficiency over smart thermostats that look into a single room of the home and guess about occupancy," says Zartman.