If you pay much attention to the latest tech news, you’ve probably heard a lot of talk about “the Cloud.” What this term denotes, of course, is cloud-based storage, which has revolutionized the way we organize, access, and maintain data. Nowadays, you don’t need to have all of your data kept inside your PC or mobile device, but instead can store it in the virtual cloud and tap into it as needed. This has radicalized the way we listen to music, to give but one example—now, all your songs can be stored in the cloud as opposed to taking up space on your phone or iPod—and, unsurprisingly, it has also brought about significant advances in the home automation field.
Case in point: The “Smart Schedule” thermostat, from Alarm.com. According to the developers, it’s the smartest thermostat of all time. And you’d be hard-pressed to argue with them!
And what makes the thing so smart? This thermostat actually studies and learns the behavioral patterns of the home’s inhabitants. It will figure out your family’s lifestyle patterns, in other words, and adjust the temperature accordingly, creating the most comfortable environment and allowing for maximum energy savings.
But where does the cloud come in? If you have this thing installed, there will be an automated thermostat in your home or office, but the brunt of the work—the “learning,” as it were — is done via cloud-based software. Alarm.com’s servers handle almost everything on their end.
To give just an example of how adaptable this thing is: If you set your security system to AWAY, the Alarm.com thermostat will deduce that you’re not going to be around for a while, so it will lower the temperature, ensuring you don’t overspend on energy when you’re not actually at home. But you can reprogram it for those times when you just run up the street for a gallon of milk, or for a quick cup of coffee, so that you’re not uncomfortable when you arrive back home.
There are a few other thermostats on the market that will do this, but this particular system is uniquely smart. This is where its cloud-based memory comes into play. It will actually learn your family’s habits of arming and disarming the security system, as well as turning off lights or leaving doors open; it will memorize your schedule, to a certain degree, and react accordingly.
In early trials, the system has proved revelatory: Most families have no idea how predictable their routines are until the thermostat reveals it to them!
Really, though, this kind of technology is what home automation is all about—providing custom comfort and convenience, and helping you achieve cost- and energy-efficiency in the process. A home automation company like Home Control Automations Systems can ultimately help you achieve the highest level of communication between your alarm, your thermostat, and all the other components of your house—and make everything controllable via your iPhone or iPad!
