Leading window manufacturer VELUX® has announced a partnership with revolutionary smart home company Netatmo to create the windows of the future.
VELUX is working with Netatmo to develop a new range of smart windows with integrated indoor climate solutions to meet a growing consumer demand for connected devices in the home.
Smart homes and home automation are predicted to be one of the next big trends, with smart home revenue set to quadruple to almost 65 billion USD by 2020 [Statista, 2016] as consumers look to upgrade their homes through smart gadgets and home appliances.
The new range of windows, called VELUX Active, will comprise WiFi gateway and smart controls for VELUX INTEGRA® roof windows and sunscreening products, along with a control app for iOS and Android. Based on a range of indoor climate parameters, such as temperature, sunlight levels, humidity, and CO2 levels, users will be able to automate roof window and sunscreen operation, by ensuring the optimum indoor climate in a home at all times.
Both the partnership and the product concept are being announced today, in the context of CES Unveiled – the preview to the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, USA.
The first VELUX Active products are expected to launch in autumn 2017.
“Very soon your home will be able to help look after your health, by ensuring you get plenty of daylight and fresh air exactly when you need it,” says Jørgen Tang-Jensen, CEO of the VELUX Group. “VELUX has been creating better living environments for our customers for more than 75 years, and this collaboration with Netatmo represents an important step forward in providing greater comfort, well-being, energy efficiency and security.”
“We’re very pleased to develop the VELUX Active solution with VELUX, leader in the roof windows industry. With this partnership, we demonstrate our ability to create solutions that fit into the house infrastructure and to directly address the B2B market”, explains Fred Potter, Founder and President of Netatmo. “Through this collaboration, we bring our skills in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, product software integration, electronics and user experience” he adds.
The product concept for VELUX Active has also been awarded two prestigious CES 2017 awards in the Smart Home and Eco-design & Sustainable Technologies categories.
As part of its strategy on smart homes and the Internet of Things, VELUX has also collaborated with Apple, to develop products compatible with Apple’s HomeKit smart home platform.