Image 1: Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of CTA, giving opening remarks at CES 2022...Image 2: A view of the Bosch’s booth in Central Hall of CES 2022...

One of the biggest global trade fairs, CES 2022 concluded on 8th January at Las Vegas, Nevada, following a week filled with thousands of product debuts unveiling innovation that will better the world and solve global challenges. More than 2300 exhibiting companies from around the world, including more than 800 start-ups, launched products featuring innovation across artificial intelligence, automotive technology, digital health, smart home and more. After nearly two years, CES returned ‘home’ to Las Vegas welcoming well over 45,000 attendees in person, including 1800 global media, across 11 indoor and outdoor venues. The show was truly a global event, with 30% of attendees traveling from outside the US – representing 119 countries.

Many new HVAC-R products too were either launched or showcased or displayed virtually in the event. Most of them were focused towards enhancing comforts through sustainable design, development and delivery. And majority of the innovative products were receiving their functional support through the Internet of Things (IoT). In this article, I shall present a few of them.

A few innovative offerings from Bosch

Heating and cooling solutions for a perfect climate in the home: The company’s state-of-the-art inverter technology, the highly efficient Climate 5000 3.0 ductless mini-split air-source heat-pump system will offer ample heating and cooling capacity. This heat pump is suitable for most residential buildings due to its ability to heat efficiently, even in frigid outdoor temperatures.

The Climate 5000 3.0 features improved energy efficiency and humidity control, creating a comfortable indoor climate. In addition, its built-in air filtration system purifies the air and reduces Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and other harmful gases and odours.

Bosch has also launched the Inverter Ducted Split (IDS) Premium Connected heat-pump system on the market. This solution offers high efficiency and particularly innovative connected features. Using a wireless internet connection and an IoT platform means that installers and homeowners can register it in the app. It also makes installation and troubleshooting easy. With the EasyAir app, installers and homeowners can access data remotely, allowing them to monitor energy consumption and appliance status.

Connected thermostats – smart and simple heating control: With its BCC50 and BCC100 connected thermostats, Bosch has shown its capability to offer a simple and smart all-in-one control for heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation systems. Users can program their own heating and cooling schedules, for example. The controls are set directly on the thermostat, by using the Bosch Connected Control app, or by voice command.

Intelligent oven – cooking with a voice assistant: What is the right temperature required? Direct heat or steam? Finding the right setting can be tricky. But whether it’s a quick supper or fine dining, an intelligent Bosch oven will do the trick. The voice assistant Alexa is standing by with advice, and will not only recommend the best oven setting, but also switch the oven on if required – all you have to do is ask.

Recipes inspired by a digital look inside the fridge: No idea what to eat? Fridge always full of leftovers? That’s now a thing of the past. Now food can be entered into a digital fridge inventory – manually, by synchronizing with the Home Connect shopping list, or via a camera in the fridge. The Home Connect app will then know exactly what’s in the fridge and provide recipe ideas based on the provisions available. A surefire recipe for new ways to treat your taste buds, as well as for less food waste.

Enthusiastic crowds filled the entrance of CES 2022…
CES 2022 hosted 30% of attendees from outside the US…

Some exciting products from the Z-Wave Alliance

The Z-Wave Alliance is a standards development organization dedicated to developing and advancing Z-Wave technology as an open and internationally recognized ITU standard (G.9959) for smart home and IoT solutions. Alliance members lead the home controls market, providing leading-edge products and systems that deliver increased comfort, convenience, energy conservation, safety, and security. Z-Wave is a registered trademark of the Z-Wave Alliance. The Z-Wave Alliance CES 2022 Pavilion provided dozens of live smart home demos and experiences. Some of those have been presented in next
few paragraphs.

Aeotec has demonstrated its Siren 7 – a Z-Wave 700 Series doorbell with 30 pre-loaded sounds and 105 dB chime. Additionally, the company has showcased its Outdoor Plug, which is an IP44-rated Z-Wave 700 series plug, to control outdoor or indoor appliances and measure their energy consumption.

Airzone North America Corp has showcased its Aidoo Inverter / VRF Z-Wave Controller, which enables two-way communication with the HVAC unit through certified communication protocols by manufacturers. The Aidoo Inverter / VRF Controller supports on/off control, fan speed and setpoint temperature, operation modes, and reading of HVAC unit warning and errors.

Alfred International develops products that strike the perfect balance between sleek design, security, and usability. Alfred has showcased a series of new products, partnerships and integrations including the brand’s industry-leading transformational Smart Building Platform, a successor to its popular DB2 smart lock, the highly anticipated WiCharge Kit for the ML2 smart lock and more.

Schlage displayed the Schlage Connect Smart Deadbolt Z-Wave Certified smart lock that leverages Z-Wave Plus to connect your home automation systems and connected security systems.

DEN Smart Home demonstrated its award-winning DEN SmartStrike, the first wireless, communicating door strike. This product installs easily in the door frame and gives the security and convenience of a smart door lock with the freedom of keeping your existing door hardware design.

Flex Automation demonstrated an ELAN and Control4 gateway simultaneously controlling a Z-Wave Flex lighting panel and Fibaro sensors via their ZIR100 and IRF100 bridges. The company’s self-guided demo facilitated interaction with connected smart home devices.

Homey (Athom) is a DIY Z-Wave-certified smart home platform that controls, monitors, and automates thousands of devices across hundreds of brands. Homey unveiled a new solution at CES 2022.

Jasco demonstrated its ProSeries that includes in-wall products for building professionals, DIY customers, and small businesses. The innovative product category provides homeowners with a holistic smart home experience under one Z-Wave system including switches, dimmers, add-on switches and fan-speed controls, sensors, and outlets.

Masonite is a leading global designer, manufacturer, and distributor of interior and exterior doors. The company showcased its coming Smart Door solutions and demonstrated its recent integration with Yale smart locks and popular doorbell products.

Remotec demonstrated its new 700 Z-Wave series Z-Wave to IR AC/AV controller. This solution adds intelligence to AC units and AV devices. The new model, ZXT-800, includes advanced features and supports quick setup through IR learning and smart search.

Silicon Labs demonstrated its Z-Wave to Matter bridge and showcased its recently released 800-series chip sets featuring industry leading long range (1.5+ miles), 50% increase in battery life and PSA level 3 security.

Vision demonstrated its home security and home automation product line including, glass break detector, motion sensors, door window sensor, 2-in-1 universal remote and arrival sensor.

Yale (ASSA ABLOY) will demonstrated its Yale Assure Lock SL (YRD256-BSP), Yale Assure Lever (YRL256-619), Yale Interconnected Lockset (YRC226), Yale nexTouch.

Zooz presented the new Z-Box 700 Series Z-Wave Plus Smart Home Hub, Zooz Titan Water Valve Actuator (ZAC36), and Zooz 700 Series Z-Wave XS Sensors.

Bosch’s connected thermostat for smart and simple heating control…

The final comment

At the beginning of 2022, the CES trade show has served as an indicator to show the direction of movement of the industry. Development and progress of the IoT technology has opened up several new avenues as far as human comfort and control over material handling, preservation and distribution are concerned. It is expected that the innovative elements of technologies that have been showcased in CES 2022 will soon get converted to finished or customised products to enrich our sustainable lifestyle.

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