Smart home friendly Heat Pump

Hardware Heatpump
1

I thought I would mention a US heat pump that I have just read about.

https://heatmap.news/sustainability/merino-energy-heat-pumps

A company called Merino Energy are testing and planning to launch a heat pump which is supposedly vastly simpler to install and hence presumably much cheaper but also supports smart home integration including Apple Home.

Sadly I find that European/UK heat pump brands are if anything rabidly anti-smart home integration.

Due to the fact this is still under development their own website is totally lacking in details - other than claiming it can be possible to do an install in under an hour. What is clear is that this is down to it being a single room AC unit with no need for an outdoor unit. (It is not clear how it vents heat or if it removes condensation.) Being that the company is based in California - San Francisco I believe, heating is less of an issue. :slightly_smiling_face:

I congratulate Merino on trying to advance the technology and it would be appreciated if EU/UK brands also considered smart home integration. Absurdly, Panasonic sell a mini-split AC unit in India with Matter smart home support but do not sell it in Europe!

I have felt that Dyson would logically someday enter the AC market as they have a history of using advanced physics to create ā€˜airā€™ related products e.g. their indoor fan, their hair dryer and even their original vortex using vacuum cleaners.

2

Sorry, I donā€™t see anything ground breaking there.

It looks similar to this electriQ iQool 12000 BTU Wall Mounted All-In-One Smart Air Conditioner with Heat Pump - No Outdoor Unit Needed IQOOL-SMART15HP | Appliances Direct variations of which have been available for some time.

It has to fit on an outside wall, you have to drill 2 big holes through the wall and all the noise is in the room with you. From what I can gather they arenā€™t very efficient either.

I rather think that most split air conditioners have some sort of ā€œsmartā€ home integration. I have a cheap split air conditioner which has a Tuya Smart app and it was quite easy to integrate with Home Assistant. The Samsung ASHP has a wireless adapter which also has an app and can be integrated with Home Assistant, although there are better ways of doing it.

3

my Grant Aerona R290 with the econet controller is pretty easy to integrate into a smart home if you dont mind fiddling with home assistant. Simple for granny to work? .. not so much, no, but it could be packaged that way if required. Give chatgpt and alexa direct access to flow temp control and the world is your little molluscy thing, until the internet goes down. :roll_eyes: