Smart home heating and cooling
Smart temperature-control devices — such as thermostats that learn and adjust to pre-programmed temperatures — are poised to increase comfort and save energy in homes. Now MIT spinout Ecovent is further refining this technology with an automated system of vents and sensors that allows temperature control of individual rooms through an app — and which has surprising connections to missile-defense technology. Ecovent’s system is centered on smart vents that homeowners install in place of traditional vents. They then plug one sensor into each room, place a control hub anywhere in the house, and input the desired temperatures for each room into a smartphone app. The sensors constantly measure a room’s temperature, and relay that information to the hub, which tells the vents how much to open or close. The system also learns behavior, so it eventually adjusts to the users’ preferences. A system for a four-bedroom home — with a current cost of around $2,100 —...