Starting Thursday, Netatmo will offer a new air conditioner and heat pump controller. The Netatmo Smart AC Controller can integrate any model of air conditioner or air-source heat pump into HomeKit that has an infrared remote control with a display.

With omnidirectional infrared technology and long range, users should not have to worry about the placement of the controller. All that is required at the installation site is power, which the controller accepts via micro-USB.

Five simple questions are designed to automatically create a customized and energy-efficient weekly schedule for automatic control. Furthermore, the controller has an ECO-Assist mode which, thanks to the integrated geolocation feature, automatically switches off the air conditioning as soon as all occupants have left the house.

Besides Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are also supported. The Netatmo Smart AC Controller can be pre-ordered now for around 120€ at Amazon. The counterpart from tado° is currently available for around 90€.