UK-only launch for French brand's latest smart heating device
After launching its smart video doorbell last month, Netatmo is taking a second stab at the smart thermostat space. The French smart home specialist has unveiled the Smart Modulating Thermostat in the hope that it can take on industry giants like Nest, Hive, and Tado.
The Smart Modulating Thermostat has been designed for boilers using OpenTherm, a communications technology that allows central heating systems and thermostats to communicate with each other. OpenTherm provides much more precise control of the boiler, by continuously adjusting the boiler’s water temperature set point.
The Smart Modulating Thermostat also enables users to set up a heating schedule so that it is in sync with their daily routine and manage their boiler when they’re not at home.
So, if you’re working a night shift in the cold winter months and want to turn on your boiler ready for when you get home, you can easily do this from Netatmo’s Home + Control app remotely.
But if you’d rather sit back and let your smart thermostat do all the hard work, that’s also an option with Netatmo’s new smart thermostat. It uses an intelligent Auto-Adapt feature to automatically make changes to your heating based on outdoor climate and various indoor attributes.
Netatmo says the device is suitable for all rooms in a house, and to give people a way to personalize their smart thermostat, the company is providing four colored stickers so it can be matched with different rooms.
When it comes to installing the thermostat in their home, users will need to contact a certified specialist to conduct this complex task. However, it should be pretty straightforward to find an expert to do this, as Netatmo offers a list of certified installers via its website.
If you own Netatmo’s Smart Radiator Valves, you’ll be able to use them with the Smart Modulating Thermosart. This means you can control the heating in individual rooms throughout your house, remotely.
This isn’t the first time that Netatmo has launched a smart thermostat, having originally entered this area in 2013 with the help of long-time designer Phillipe Starck. He is also the design brains behind Netatmo’s latest attempt.
The Smart Modulating Thermostat is on sale now in the UK for £219.99. It can be purchased directly from Netatmo’s official website, distributors and energy suppliers.
Netatmo says it isn’t compatible with US heating systems, and there’s no word on whether that might change anytime soon.