Aros Smart Window Air Conditioner

I like how anymore anything that's not a "smart" whatever it is gets labeled a "dumb" whatever it is. According to Quirky, which recently made Dr. Garthen Leslie's Aros Smart Window Air Conditioner available for purchase, "Dumb window A/C units only give you two options: Leave the air on all day--while burning expensive electricity--or come home to nasty, stuffy summer heat." Egghead Aros though, it does way more than turn on and off, and used some shoddy plastic louvers to direct an icy breeze directly into my stifled crotch after a long day of sitting around. Aros, in tandem with the Wink app, also detects and records information about its owner's budget, location, schedule, and usage. Over time, it learns from this data and applies it to its own ability to automatically maintain the perfect interior temperature both while you're home and away, and during the day and at night.

Aros is like the Nest thermostat for the awesome months of the year. Welcome to summer.

As a standard air conditioner, Aros' design is minimalist and discreet. It has flat, touch-capacitive sensors that allow for switching between 3 cooling modes and 3 fan speeds, and retractable fabric wings to secure its fit in the desired window. Aros packages include the A/C unit, wings, installation hardware, and a washable filter.

Once paired with Wink, Aros' capabilities multiply tenfold (note: I didn't do the math, that's just a figure of speech). The smartphone/tablet app enables owners to monitor, program, and control their smart air conditioner from anywhere. In addition, the app will track and report on Aros usage so settings can be adjusted at any time to save on energy costs. Owners can also tell Wink to monitor their schedule, weather, and budget, and send Aros cooling commands that reflect the times and levels actually needed. The A/C system can also be programmed to turn on and off based on a paired smart device's GPS location (i.e., off when X miles away from home, on when X miles or closer to it).

Some Aros specs:

• Cooling Area: Medium rooms of around 350 square feet (about 17' x 20').
• Space Requirements: Fits windows 24-1/2" to 40-1/2" wide x 13-1/2" inches high.
• Power: 8,000 BTU, 115 volts, 6.3 amps.

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