Smart heating company Tado has launched a Kickstarter campaign for its Tado Cooling smart air con system.
Like its heating product, Tado Cooling lets you control the temperature with a smart thermostat and a mobile app. But instead of controlling the heaters from afar, you’ll be able to remotely turn air con units from your iOS or Android device.
As well as being able to manually lower the temperature you can let Tado Cooling chill things out for you. Location tracking provided by the mobile apps will see the air con units automatically kick in when you’re on your way home.
Following a successful beta test phase, Tado is now letting would-be early adopters pledge as little as $5 (£3) to help get its latest project off the ground.
Tado says that its cooling system will work with any remote controlled wall mounted, in-window, or portable AC unit. The Tado Cooling thermostat communicates with air con units via infrared, so you’ll need to have it set up in the same room as the air con.
Thanks to a similar algorithm used in its heating product, Tado says that the system will let users save money by reaching optimal indoor coolness more efficiently.
Founder and CEO of Tado, Christian Deilmann said: “At Tado we strongly believe that combining efficient use of energy seamlessly into our lifestyle will enable a more comfortable and sustainable world. Therefore, we are designing cutting edge technology to add intelligence to the devices used in our daily lives.”
Read our smart energy services comparison feature, featuring Tado, Nest, Hive, Evohome, Heat Genius, OWL, Salus, Cosy and ClimoteSmart energy companies are keen to point out the money-saving and ecological angles of their services. Honeywell claims that you can shave 40 per cent off of your heating bill with its Evohome system and Google-owned Nest claims that its product will be carbon neutral after just eight weeks.
But will Tado Cooling take off in the UK? Most British homes don’t have air conditioning, but they’re common in most workplaces. If you’re the kind of early bird who gets in before everyone else, you might want to have a friendly word with your office manager.
Early adopters who get behind Tado Cooling now can get the full set at the discounted price of $69 (£41) – Tado expects to sell it for $149 (£88.60).
Additionally, anyone who orders Tado Cooling on Kickstarter will receive the device four months before its is available in the Tado website. Tado hopes to raise $150,000 (£89,200) and will begin production of the devices if it hits this goal.
At the time of writing, Tado has secured over half the target amount – $76,985 (£45,786) – with 28 days to go.
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