BOLDR's Klima Wants to Slash Your Energy Usage by Making Any AC a Truly Smart Device
From tracking when you need cooling to shutting off the AC if you leave a window open, Klima claims it can cut bills by 30 percent.
Home automation specialist BOLDR has turned to crowdfunding to get its latest design in users hands: Klima, a controller which promises to turn any air conditioning or heat pump unit into a fully-connected piece of the smart home puzzle.
"Klima [is] a smart controller that transforms your existing air conditioner or heat pump into a smart home device through mobile phone control," Madiyar Ablyazov, chief executive officer of BOLDR, claims of his company's design. "Launching Klima has taken close to a year from concept to the launch of the Kickstarter campaign. We are extremely excited to foster an early community of backers for Klima that will make this product a reality."
The Klima hardware itself is constructed from eco-friendly materials including recycled aluminum and plastic, Ablyazov claims, as part of the company's desire to make things smart without costing the Earth — a key part of the device's feature set, too, with the promise of lowered energy usage through smarter control of AC systems. Programmed by reading an existing AC remote, the device connects to a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi or Thread network and offers control through a smartphone app — or integrates into Matter-compatible home automation systems including Apple Homekit and Google Home.
The Klima isn't just a phone-based remote control, though: the company claims it offers features to actively reduce energy usage by reducing wastage. Location sensing can turn the AC off when the last person leaves a property, and back on again when they're heading home; a sensor detects open windows and automatically disables the AC so you're not cooling the street; and there are smart zoning features to control comfort on a room-by-room basis.
"Klima was designed from the ground up with the user in mind," claims Ablyazov. "Our design and engineering process took us through multiple stages where we considered every angle of possible use to deliver a product that functions in any home aesthetic and is compatible with over 10,000 ACs and heat pumps. We started with a simple POC [Proof of Concept] and have worked for the last year to deliver a fully-functional product."
Klima, which is BOLDR's third product design, is now funding on Kickstarter starting at £77 (around $97) for "super early bird" tier backers, a claimed 43 percent discount on a planned $175 retail price. All devices are expected to ship in October this year, the company says.