European home climate control company tado introduced an app-based remote controller for air conditioners that uses geofencing to save energy. The tado Smart AC Control monitors a smartphone’s location to sense when users have left home and then automatically turns off the air conditioner, said the company. It then reverses the process when they return. Users can also use the tado app to control an AC unit manually, it said. The tado controller can connect to 85 percent of remote-controlled in-room air conditioners, and is compatible with wall-mounted, in-window or portable AC units, said the company. The controller connects to the air conditioner via infrared and links to the Internet using a home’s Wi-Fi with no additional cabling needed, it said. The tado hardware ($199) incorporates Bluetooth Low Energy along with temperature, humidity, light, noise and motion sensors, though not all of the sensors are fully activated, according to the company. “The beauty of connected devices is that they will get better with every update and all existing users will benefit in the same way as new customers,” said CEO Christian Deilmann.
A new line of 2-in-1 portable battery chargers from Panasonic comes with an intelligent switching feature that gives priority to USB-powered devices before recharging the travel battery, said the company. Conventional portable chargers use a concurrent charge that requires that both the inside battery and connected device charge at the same time, Panasonic said, resulting in charge and discharge loss, wasted battery voltage and increased charge time. Panasonic’s Intelligent Pass-Through technology is said to reduce charge/discharge loss and deliver faster charge times. The supplied USB to USB micro-B cable has overheat safety protection that detects abnormal status via the cable and microcomputer conduct controls, said the company. Charge life for the QE-AL201 ($59) is 2,500 cycles, and 1,600 cycles for the QE-AL102 ($39), it said.
WeatherBug is pitching its updated app for Android phones and tablets as an energy saver. According to WeatherBug, weather influences about 50 percent of home energy use, and the app’s energy meter gives feedback on how much a home’s heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) system needs to work to reach a desired temperature. Users can slide the thermostat bar on the app to see projected HVAC costs, energy use and their home’s carbon footprint. Additional features include alerts for lightning and dangerous storms, it said.
LED lighting was Amazon’s Deal of the Day Thursday -- offered by Woot -- with discounts up to 62 percent, bringing per-unit pricing to under $4 a bulb. Featured A19 sale bulbs were from Energetic Lighting and included a six-pack of 40-watt-equivalent nondimmable bulbs for $22.99 (down from $59.95); 60-watt-equivalent, nondimmable bulbs for $29.99 (down from $74.95); a six-pack of 40-watt-equivalent dimmable bulbs for $29.99 (down from $69.95); and a six-pack of 60-watt dimmable bulbs for $35.99 (down from $84.95). The dimmable bulbs were rated 4.5-5 out of a five-star rating at Amazon, and there was one review (five stars) for the nondimmable bulbs, we found. Elsewhere, the lowest price we found for LED bulbs at Home Depot was $7.97 for a Cree 60-watt-equivalent dimmable A19 bulb. Cree has been at the forefront of promoting mainstream adoption of LED bulbs since launching at Home Depot, its sole brick-and-mortar retailer, and its $6.97 entry price last spring set a new pricing tier for mainstream bulb brands. CEO Chuck Swoboda said on an earnings call last April (see 1404240055) that Cree was continuing to work with Home Depot to test pricing with consumers and the “trade-off between volume and margin.” Prices have bumped up a buck since then at Home Depot, and Cree has yet to produce what Swoboda referred to then as an upcoming fifth iteration of an “even lower cost” bulb that would enable new price points. At e-commerce site bulbs.com, Cree 60-watt-equivalent dimmable A19 bulbs started at $9.97 Thursday and $2 less at 1000bulbs.com, we found. The latter was offering Cree bulbs at a 10 percent discount through the end of March.
Alarm.com announced a smart thermostat designed to integrate with connected devices in a smart home. The Alarm.com thermostat is said to differ from others by using remote temperature sensors placed around the home to adjust temperature in rooms where people are located, not in just the room where the thermostat is, the company said. Dynamic modes can automatically adjust temperature based on time of day. Alarm.com’s cloud platform intelligently connects the thermostat with other devices in the home, enabling it to learn and adjust to occupancy patterns and to respond in real time to activity, the company said Sunday. The thermostat can adjust automatically when the security system is armed and change temperature based on a user’s location, the company said, but the homeowner manages rules and settings to fit lifestyle and preference. The thermostat will be available exclusively through the company's network of service providers in first half 2015, it said.
Panamax is launching at CES the Power360 series of charging products for the retail channel. The Power360 Dock wall-mounted charging station ($39) includes six surge-protected 120V outlets, plus two 2-Amp USB charging ports. The device has slots that can hold a smartphone or tablet while it’s charging, the company said. The Power360 Six ($59) is designed for computer desks and home theaters and offers a coaxial in/out connection and protection for a cable or satellite box. The $79 Power360 Eight is designed for larger workstations and includes eight outlets. All three charging stations include Panamax’s Circle of Protection, which includes three real-time indicators on the front of the unit to show that connected devices are protected and operating correctly and that the home’s wiring is performing safely, the company said.
CEA hailed Senate passage of legislation (S-2791) exempting for four years external power supplies from energy conservation rules set by the Department of Energy in February. External power supplies will be exempt from DOE rules if they’re manufactured between Feb. 10, 2016, and Feb. 10, 2020, the text of S-2791 says. "We applaud the Senate’s passage of this important technical amendment, which recognizes the need for replacement chargers for products manufactured before the effective date of DOE’s latest regulation," said Doug Johnson, CEA vice president-technology policy, in a statement Friday. External power supplies "are used with a wide range of consumer electronics -- laptops and tablets, printers and routers, and cordless telephones -- and this bill will facilitate warranty and contract compliance by manufacturers, as well as manufacturer compliance with state parts retention laws," Johnson said.
Cree plans a “Great American Bulb Swap” event in New York this weekend, where consumers can exchange an incandescent or CFL bulb for a Cree LED bulb for free. The company’s message is that its bulbs are 85 percent more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, and they are mercury-free and have “superior light quality” to CFLs. Cree claims a lifespan of 22 years for its LED bulbs. The event will be at South Street Seaport Pier Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m.-5 p.m., the company said.
Remote Technologies Incorporated (RTI) bowed a two-way driver for eGauge Systems products that allows installers to integrate electric energy meters into an RTI control system giving customers real-time measurement of electrical consumption. Monitoring information includes amperage, voltage, wattage and frequency from up to 128 circuits, RTI said, and the driver can also measure output of individual appliances. The driver is targeted to residential and commercial applications, it said.
The Department of Energy plans a public meeting Nov. 21 on a rulemaking that proposes revising the DOE’s test procedure for external power supplies (see 1410100059), the agency said in a Federal Register notice Tuesday. The DOE also extended the comments deadline in the rulemaking by 15 days to Dec. 23, the notice said. The meeting is to be 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the DOE’s Forrestal Building in Washington, it said. The meeting also will be streamed on a webinar, it said. The proposed revisions would harmonize the "instrumentation resolution and uncertainty requirements" with the second edition of the International Electrotechnical Commission’s 62301 standard when measuring standby power along with other international standards programs, the DOE has said.