Telkonet
Waukesha
Innovation: EcoManage app
www.telkonet.com
There are plenty of challenges to properly programming a home thermostat. Sure, having it set correctly can save money by not heating or cooling the residence when no one is around, but schedules change and re-programming the device can be a hassle.
Waukesha-based Telkonet Inc. hopes to eliminate some of the hassle with a new app that uses a smartphone’s location to automate residential temperature controls.
EcoManage – a free app available in the Android and Apple stores – is part of Telkonet’s EcoSmart platform. Users with an EcoSmart thermostat can manage the temperature of their apartment, hotel room or dorm from their mobile device.
The company’s platform is not intended for use in single-family homes, but instead works in multi-family buildings and commercial settings like hotels, hospitals, dormitories and military settings. The idea behind EcoManage is to give consumers the ability to control the temperature of their residence while still giving the building owner oversight. It also opens up possible rebates and incentives from local utility companies for the owner.
The app is just part of the company’s platform, which also includes thermostats, occupancy sensors, data monitors, light switch and outlet controls, and door and window monitors. Beyond products, the company also provides cloud-based software, services and mobile applications.
“If you put all four of these pieces together, you understand what IoT, or the Internet of Things, is supposed to do,” said Jason Tienor, Telkonet chief executive officer. “We have a comprehensive platform that has all of the pieces.”
The company’s whole platform and history of developing connected devices puts it in a better position than new entrants to the market, Tienor said. Telkonet was founded in 1999 and had $14.8 million in revenue for fiscal 2014 and was profitable. The company reported in November that year-to-date sales were up 3 percent through the first three quarters of 2015, the first year with the EcoSmart platform fully deployed.
The geo-fencing technology in the EcoManage app allows users to set a distance away from home at which the thermostat would turn on or off. It is possible for the heat to kick on when the user is a quarter-mile away. The thermostat can also be connected to multiple smartphones, so a user doesn’t leave roommates in the cold when he or she heads to work.
The app works in concert with the rest of the platform to deliver “intelligent automation” of energy use, Tienor said. Users are becoming conditioned to having the ability to automate controls and are coming to expect it, he said.
“People are more and more seeing and using the capabilities provided on their smart devices,” Tienor said.
In hospitality settings, there is a move toward smart hotel rooms, he said. From a phone as a room key to returning the thermostat and television to the guest’s preferred temperature and channel, Tienor said hotels are using automation not just as an energy saving opportunity, but also as a chance to improve the experience.
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