Skip to main content

Nexia’s new smart thermostat, RoomIQ feature help keep your home cozy and comfy

nexia smart home thermostat ces2018
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Nexia has unveiled a series of new features to make home sweet home more comfortable still. At CES, the smart home company showed off the RoomIQ, ZSENS930 Wireless Temperature Sensor, and Trane XL724, three innovations that should help keep your household environment exactly as you want it.

First up is RoomIQ by Nexia, which will leverage Nexia-enabled thermostats and Nexia smart home triggers to help customize your heating and cooling experience. Rather than simply scheduling your AC unit to turn on or your heating system to go off, RoomIQ actually adapts to rooms and their occupants. The system is claimed to customize comfort levels by taking cues from the Nexia system, including motion detection, light switch activation, or a number of other triggers. If RoomIQ determines that someone is in a room, it prioritizes setting the temperature in that part of the house over other rooms.

Recommended Videos

RoomIQ will work alongside Trane’s new ZSENS930 Wireless Temperature Sensor. Despite its small size (it fits in the palm of your hand), the sensor can report temperature and humidity data that will tell RoomIQ how best to set a room’s conditions. The wireless sensor is Z-Wave compatible, and can be paired with Trane’s existing lineup of thermostats and HVAC systems. And when used together with the new RoomIQ feature, it can assess the temperature between certain rooms to help the entire system reach ideal conditions for the home. That means that during the day, your HVAC may control your entire home’s temperature based on the common area in the lower level of your home, whereas at night, comfort is determined by the temperature in the upstairs bedrooms. Of course, all settings can be controlled using the companion iOS or Android Nexia app.

Finally, there’s the Trane XL724, a programmable touchscreen thermostat that is Wi-Fi connected and allows users to remotely control their home’s temperature to reduce energy consumption. Accessible via smartphone, tablet, or computer, the Trane XL724 is also compatible with Nexia Diagnostics so that your thermostat can be monitored remotely by licensed HVAC professionals. Users can create up to four different schedules every day to be executed by this new smart thermostat.

All three of these new products will be available in the first half of 2018.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Tesla Powerwall is the best solar, home backup, and EV charging companion
Tesla Powerwall 3 installed on outside of home

Solar power, and having solar panels on your home, is a fantastic way to conserve energy and cut down on power bills, especially if you live somewhere sunny like Florida or California. There's just one glaring issue. When the grid goes down you still lose power because of how it's connected. Your solar panels cannot generate enough energy or keep it stored to keep your power on. So, essentially, your power setup doesn't offer much benefit there, unless you get a home power backup system. More specifically, something like a Tesla Powerwall is a compact home battery that stores energy generated from the grid. That energy is then used as a backup when traditional grid power is unavailable.

To make it even more clear, with a Tesla Powerwall, the power stays on even during a major blackout or outage. It's whole-home backup, too, which means you can power your lights, appliances, electronics, you name it. If you've ever had to throw away an entire refrigerator's worth of spoiled food because of a multi-day outage -- like I have -- you'll certainly appreciate the option to keep your appliances running. But that's not all it can do. The Tesla Powerwall is an excellent companion for Tesla EV owners, creating an entire smart ecosystem of power. Let's explore.

Read more
Air fryer or cordless vacuum, you choose: Two deep Black Friday discounts worth shopping
Levoit LVAC-200 cordless vacuum in use with pet nearby

Going down probably as two of the most random, unique contenders for smart home and Black Friday deals in a mashup together, we have the COSORI TurboBlaze Air Fryer and LEVOIT LVAC-200 Cordless Vacuum. One will cook your food fast and crispy the other will clean your home fast and effectively. Why not, right? You could even throw some food into the air fryer and get to cleaning while it heats up with the vacuum. Okay, maybe it really is an excellent combo. Nevertheless, these Black Friday discounts will have you a little more excited than normal, let's take a closer look.

 
COSORI TurboBlaze Air Fryer -- now $88, was $120 26% off

Read more
Best home security camera deals: Ring, Arlo, Blink and more on sale
These are the best security camera deals available right now
Prime Day 2022 security camera deals graphic.

If you're the sort of person who worries about the physical safety of their home or live in a rough area, then having home security cameras can help give you much more peace of mind. The great thing is that in the past decade or so, security cameras have come a long way, and nowadays, you can get things like wireless security cameras that let you access them remotely from wherever you are through an application. Of course, that does mean that there is a huge selection out there, which is why we've collected some of our favorite security camera deals below, although if you're in the Amazon ecosystem, it might be worth checking out these Ring camera deals.
Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage Security Camera -- $27 $50 45% off

While this is ostensibly made for your garage, there's no reason the Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage can't work for other uses as well, especially if you don't need the highest quality of recording. It has an HD camera, which isn't a ton, but it does have an impressive 130-degree field of view. The MyQ also connects through dual-band Wi-Fi for a better connection, and it even has two-way communication, which is impressive for something at this price bracket.

Read more