Thermostats

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Interest in smart home and home automation products is growing by leaps and bounds every year. And it’s no longer just about Wi-Fi thermostats.

Emerson continues to evolve its equipment lines in an effort to introduce its technologies to a broader customer base.

Honeywell Intl. Inc. honed in on the connected home during the 2018 AHR Expo while also expanding its already broad portfolio in a number of different market segments, including hydronics, potable water systems, humidification, and IAQ.

Panasonic Corp. of North America is honing in on its focus to make it easier for both residential and commercial building owners to control the temperature and comfort level within the space. The company hit its targets with the introduction of two new products — the ECONAVI air conditioner and the Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) Smart Connectivity Controller.

While smart thermostats are certainly on the rise for the residential market, the commercial side has experienced a much slower adoption rate. While a residential building has fewer people to heat or cool and a smaller space, commercial buildings aren’t as simple. Larger spaces and more people can make for a difficult heating and cooling process.

Programmable thermostats were first certified by Energy Star in 1995; however, they were removed from the government-backed program in 2009 because, on their own without proper programming, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disqualified them as energy-saving products.

The smart thermostat market is expected to grow rapidly at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.7 percent through 2022, according to a report by Grand View Research. One of the major drivers of the market is increased consumer awareness of the economic and environmental advantages of these devices. But, when making the switch from a regular, old thermostat to a smart, brand-new one, contractors across the country are finding that homeowners have some concerns.

It's no secret that the world is going digital. You check your bank account balance on your iPhone, pay your energy bill via email, and can tell Amazon Echo to play your favorite song — or adjust the temperature in your home — it's a digital world. So, thermostat manufacturers are keeping this trend in mind while developing products that will pique customers' interests.

According to Navigant research, worldwide shipments of communicating and smart thermostats are expected to grow from 926,000 annually in 2014 to 9.2 million by 2023.