Today’s customer wants convenience, comfort, and efficiency wrapped in an attractive packaging that fits into their everyday life without standing out. Thermostats in the past have been almost all those things, except attractive.
With the introduction of smart thermostats and their growing popularity in recent years, manufacturers have been working to make thermostats to be sleek and attractive. Johnson Controls has achieved this with their new GLAS Thermostat.
The GLAS thermostat the first smart thermostat on the market to use a translucent OLED touchscreen display to control its functions. Users simply touch the screen to change the temperature, monitor indoor and outdoor air quality, track energy savings, or perform other functions. GLAS can also be controlled by mobile app or by voice, using Microsoft’s Cortana, a voice-enabled digital assistant. And when homeowners or building operations are not using its high-tech features, the screen blends into background.
A few of the highlights of GLAS are:
- Temperature Automation. The thermostat creates a consistently comfortable space and does so by leveraging Johnson Controls’ temperature control algorithms. GLAS provides around-the-clock reporting of equipment run-time. Users can also utilize a seven-day scheduling that can be customized according to user preferences. Comfort settings include pre-start heating/cooling and fan and ventilation options based on temperature and air quality.
- Monitoring Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality. This feature allows users to ensure that the air in their home or building is healthy and can adjust ventilation to meet changing needs. Outdoor air quality monitoring requires the system to be connected to the internet.
- Microsoft Cortana. GLAS is controllable by using simple voice commands through Microsoft’s personal assistant Cortana. Users can easily check and audibly receive indoor and outdoor temperatures, set increases or decreases in thermostat temperature, and obtain the current weather forecast by using their voice, among other features.
- Perfect for residential or commercial applications. The thermostat supports most 24VAC heating and cooling systems, including most gas, electric, oil, radiant and forced air systems. It supports one and two stage conventional heating and cooling as well as heat pumps and single-speed fans, and has an auxiliary output to control humidifiers, dehumidifiers, ventilators, energy recovery ventilators or heat recovery ventilators.
The GLAS thermostat will be available for purchase in the first quarter of 2018 from Johnson Controls for around $320.
To learn more about the GLAS thermostat, visit www.glas.johnsoncontrols.com.