Home Comfort Trends for 2017

Imagine it: you are collecting your things at your office and miles away at your home, the range turns on to prepare dinner. The AC system is notified and lowers the temperature to deliver more cool air to balance out the oven’s additional heat. When you come home the lights automatically turn on as you enter, dinner is prepared, and your home is at the ideal temperature.

That’s the dream! And also the type of advanced home interconnectivity that is available now and 2017 could be an essential year for advancements in how your home’s HVAC system functions as part of the team.

“Smart phones revolutionized our lives in part because they allowed thousands of apps to make our lives less challenging and richer,” said Rob Haines, Marketing Manager for Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning. “We anticipate that in 2017, developers will be focusing on more new apps that let all of your home’s systems and appliances interact versus being siloed, and this will create breakout new advancements in how your home’s heating and cooling systems work.”

Smart thermostats and newer, updated HVAC systems can already send alerts to you about energy utilization and standard maintenance such as air filter replacement. Future systems could even be able to determine a potential equipment failure before it occurs and alert your HVAC repair company to reach out to you and arrange a technician’s visit. The technician will come with prior knowledge about the problem and the needed parts to repair it.

Another feature in the making is the use of infrared heat sensing in the home that will decifer which rooms are in use by family and guests and actually guide heating and cooling specifically to those rooms.

“Zoned heating and air conditioning systems have been one of the quickest growing parts of the heating and air conditioning industry for several years, and that will remain a huge opportunity,” said Haines. “Also, systems will concentrate on heating and cooling specific rooms or groups of rooms as needed to improve comfort and energy efficiency.”

And yes, Haines adds, the millennials help drive the trends for at-home connectivity and more efficient heating and air conditioning systems. “As millennials purchase their homes, they expect their home systems like heating and air conditioning to not only do what they are told, but to track and adapt themselves and to proactively provide feedback to the homeowner. We also notice that the millennials and Generation X are much more sophisticated about energy efficiency and those consequences of their HVAC systems.”

While February is an ideal time to look at trends for the year, it’s also a fantastic time to benefit from savings that will pay off in the upcoming seasons. Right now many Service Experts centers are providing free or deeply discounted equipment when you purchase a qualifying item, such as a free furnace when you invest in an AC system. Heating tune-ups are also deeply discounted just in time for the coldest season of the year. Call Sunbeam Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning in Buffalo today to schedule a free in-home estimate or to set up a Precision tune up to make sure your furnace is ready to keep you comfortable and safe all winter long.