The Premise. In the extremes of seasonal weather, coming home can be less about relaxing and more about suffering in the elements while waiting for the thermostat to kick in. One UK company believes that a home should be welcoming to its occupants the moment they walk in the door, without the presence of insanely high power bills.
The Product. Not to be confused with another heating-themed project with a similar name, Cosy is a home heating system designed to make all the arrangements that make a house a home. Using Legato protocol, each portion of the Cosy system communicates wirelessly using an 868MHz radio frequency and is upgradeable, allowing the inventors to add more components and more connectedness over time. Using the app on phones or tablets, Cosy can get the home to the perfect temperature at any time in advance, and cut back on heating costs when there’s nobody inside.
The Pitch. Green Energy Options, or GEO, has a short, sweet video that goes through all four of the compact parts of a Cosy system – the hub, the display, the switch, and the app. Each of these components is explained and illustrated in greater detail in the campaign explanation, showing how all of these devices work in tandem. The home heating system is ready for market, but GEO is raising £20,000 for WelcomeHome, an add-on using custom Smart Plugs that can be used with lamps or other electric devices so that they can be on and ready when residents arrive at their homes.
The Perks. As of right now, Cosy systems are only available to backers in the UK, and a pledge of £150 will give backers the system, the app, and 1 Smart Plug, available next month.
The Potential. Cosy knows they’re not the first ones to market with a smart thermostat. Aside from existing units like Nest and its competitors, there are other connected thermostats taking the crowdfunding approach. What Cosy expects to be able to do better than all the others is offer a complete-home heating system, covering everything from individual preferences to hot water, and even including a frost-protection system to eliminate the possibility of freezing pipes. The price is right for something like this; Cosy would indeed by s smarter thermostat.