What’s all this talk about the Internet of Things? IoT. Looks a lot like LOL, typed by someone who can’t find the shift key.
Well, it seems that the IoT is important for homeowners, because it has to do some smart homes. We covered it in a general way a while ago [http://www.acdoctor.com/blog/internet-things-will-run-hvac/] but how is it showing up in the market for home comfort systems?
It has to do with that other hot word, analytics, which is being applied to everything from political campaigning to finding the Boston Marathon bombers. Analytics involves feeding relevant information into a computer that then does something about it.
A vice president of Daikin, who’s involved with the IoT, says that just having your smart phone turn on your car on a cold morning is not the IoT. Having a car that can sense temperature and then automatically start the heating element is an example of IoT. Paul Rauker, the vice president and general manager of Daikin Applied, says your HVAC system will become more tied in with other elements of the household, such as security, lighting, and human health.
For instance, there is now a product called Sunn Light that changes the hues inside the home to correspond with the earth’s rotation around the sun. The Sunn app will glow brighter as the sun rises, match the sun’s intensity at a desired time or location (adjusting for jet lag), wind down at night and provide soft light in the darkness.
Another product is called WallyHome, and it alerts you when the humidity levels or heat are out of whack. [http://postscapes.com/internet-of-things-award/2014/connected-home.html]
The point is that the IoT is encircling us without our even knowing how to spell it. It’s just another way that technology smoothes modern living, right?