With another sweltering Australian summer around the corner, you’re probably feeling the urge to reach for your air conditioner remote. That is until you remember your power bill from last summer, and suddenly you’re weighing up just how much sweat you’re willing to put up with to save a bit of money.
You don’t have to ignore your air conditioner to keep a cap on your energy bill – if you’re smart about how you run it, you can get a better handle on its consumption. Or, even better, you can give your AC the smarts to run itself.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen more and more home appliances receive some form of smart upgrade, either as a dedicated device or an add-on that’ll unlock those features. The Klima is a smart thermostat controller that sits in the latter category. Regardless of what brand or how old your AC, mini split or heat pump is, as long as it uses a remote control with a display, the Klima will let you slot it into your smart home’s ecosystem.. Once paired, it’ll open up your AC unit to a range of new features that can be controlled anywhere from your phone.Â
The Klima is the latest smart device from Boldr, a hardware business with a track record of sustainable living tech designed to help you manage your home energy consumption. Instead of outright ignoring your AC, the Klima’s smart features offer a more flexible level of control, allowing you to model its use closer to your lifestyle (and budget).
If you have a pretty set daily routine, your Klima will let you schedule your air conditioner around it; whether that’s having it automatically switch off when you head to bed or having it cool your home just before you get back from work.
The Klima’s companion app will also let you set the maximum and minimum temperature range, so your AC maintains a more wallet-friendly level of energy consumption. It can even detect if a window has been left open and shut off your AC in response. If you already have a smart home ecosystem setup, the Klima is compatible with Google Home and Amazon Alexa, which will let you control your AC with voice commands.
If the cost of running your AC is the biggest factor holding you back from using it, your Klima can monitor how much energy your AC unit is consuming, providing a real-time estimate for your power bill.
The Klima itself is a sleek minimalist puck with a premium aluminium exterior and mirror-finish display, which can be mounted on a freestanding dock or onto your wall. Its look is reminiscent of basic smart home speakers like the Google Nest or Echo Pop, which use simple, unassuming designs to maintain an almost invisible presence, regardless of where you set it up.
That combination of functionality and unobtrusiveness makes all the difference, allowing a well-designed piece of smart tech to stand above the rest. The Klima doesn’t draw attention to itself and when properly set up it’ll be solving problems without you realising. It’s just one less thing to sweat over.
If you’re looking to cool down yourself and your power bill this summer, the Klima is available at $222 for a single unit.
This article is sponsored by Boldr. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Boss Hunting.
