Our beta program is underway and it’s been a huge success! We’re receiving a ton of amazing feedback from our customers about their experiences before and after Ecovent. Over the next weeks and months, we’ll be featuring case studies describing the home heating and cooling challenges facing our customers and how Ecovent has helped solve those challenges.
Our first case study features Mike, one of our beta customers, who owns a townhouse in the Boston area. Even with central air conditioning, Mike had a 15° temperature difference between floors in his home. Read about how Ecovent solved Mike’s problem here. And stay tuned for more case studies about our other customers!
The difference between Wi-Fi, ZigBee, and Bluetooth
Why we’re only as smart as our ancestors
Not all Motorized Vents Are Equal – Safety Matters
Meet our Team: Shawn Rose, aka “Bucky”, CIO
When 67 degrees is not 67 degrees
AHR Expo - HVAC Conference and Mariachi Concert
It’s an honor just to be nominated (but we won!)
I have a nest learning thermostat. But our Master bedroom is like a sauna while the rest of the house is freezing. Does this integrate with a NEST?
Jonathon - yes! We’ll integrate with the Nest thermostat.
Will there be handles for 3rd party integration? I’d like to integrate this with my home automation framework.
Rachel - we’re aiming to integrate with as many home automation platforms as possible. Our system has both WiFi and ZigBee radios so it will be more of a software issue than a hardware issue.
It seems like this could potentially lead to the air handler cycling on and off more often. Can you talk more about what the trigger points are for the unit to turn on? With multiple zones fed by one unit, at what point does the eco vent brain decide that the air conditioner needs to turn on? I am in south east Texas and we get at least a 10degree differential especially in the summer.
Eric - Thanks for the question. The vents are designed to get different rooms to their set points within a window of time of one another. This would mean that different rooms may receive a different amount of conditioned air to reach their respective set points. We also have safeties for avoiding overcycling and short cycling so that the system runs for the amount of time it needs to for system safety. In order to address overcycling, the Ecovent system may not kick the furnace/compressor on even though the set point has been reached but this is all for safety. We also use our sensors to ensure that de-humidification is taking place in the summer (given that this can be an issue with short cycling) even if the temperature is right, and adjust run times to maximize comfort.
I must say, I’m pretty excited to get the system. I wish I could have been involved in the beta program. I, like Eric, am in South Texas. I have 2 rooms rarely used, an office that stays hotter than the rest of the house (a problem I’ve had since I moved in), and the master bedroom seems somewhat colder. Apparently my NEST thermostat isn’t enough.
How exactly does it “monitor” the A/C system, and how does it prevent the coils from freezing? I did read the white paper, but it doesn’t answer my question. I know the sensors and hub are the brains of the ecovent system, I’m just looking for a more detailed explanation of how if monitors the A/C system itself
Rick - thanks for the question. To prevent over-pressurization of the HVAC system, we designed a vent that allows more airflow than a traditional vent, so that we lower the pressure out of the gate. More airflow allows the system to relieve pressure as compared to a traditional vent. As you mentioned, each of our vents has a sensor that measures several variables in the duct and sends this information to the control hub in real-time. That information is analyzed based on an algorithm to ensure that the system never closes off so many vents that the pressure reaches a level that would risk damage to the compressor or blower. The algorithm is complicated and based on variables within the duct and outside the duct- it’s not simply based on a concept of maximum pressure that’s a fixed number. Excess pressure restricts the amount of airflow going over the coil and when that happens, there is less “cold” to transfer from the coil to the surrounding air, which can cause the coil to freeze.
I’m wondering about issues with a heat recovery ventilator (HRV). This is used to exchange the air in the house with fresh air while recovering the heat. Unfortunately in my house, the HRV shares the ducting with the furnace. Will the Ecovent system be able to operate correctly in this situation? Can the sensors detect CO2 levels as well as temperature?
On first glance, yes we’re compatible. However there are potential risks with this sort of setup that we will need to verify. The HRV hooked to the heating ducting adds a term to the pressure balance we need to investigate to be 100% sure. Please feel free to reserve a system. We won’t charge you until we confirm your order and had a chance to verify. In terms of detecting C02 levels, those sensors aren’t built in at the moment but our smart sensors have USB plugs for additional environmental sensors, such as for C02. So stay tuned for future developments.
Hi,
I’m from Canada, Quebec (french sorry for mispelling) and I’m using Zuba system (mitsubishi) to heat or refresh depending season. Since my central thermostat cannot be intelligent (limitation with Zuba), I mean no wifi, nor zigbee, is there a way to combine your technology with my system so I can reduce unbalance temperatures in my home?
I was thinking to develop something with rasberry pie when I saw your technology. Very promising technology for old house where balancing is defective.
Does ecovent intend to propose automated vent inside duct (reduce leaking air) ?
Thx
David - if Zuba is a proprietary system, then we wouldn’t be able to control the thermostat. Ecovent would still work with your system but it would just be less efficient than if we could control your thermostat. Ecovent can still open and close vents to optimize airflow but we wouldn’t be able to tell your heat pump when to turn on and for how long. On Mitsubishi’s website, there is a Zuba package that is sold with a Mitsubishi “smart thermostat”. Are you sure a wifi enabled thermostat wouldn’t work with your system? Our smart vents control airflow at the register level. No plans right now to implement a dampening system within the duct itself.