Central Systems
There are two main ways Flair can impact the comfort of your home: airflow control and set point control.
Airflow Control
All Flair Smart Vent systems work to intelligently manage the airflow in your home, improving the overall comfort and ensuring the system runs efficiently. This is done via the automated opening and closing of Smart Vents to direct heated or cooled air to the areas of your home that need it most and to direct it away from the areas that don't need it. No more going from room to room or getting on a ladder to adjust your vents.
Set Point Control
If you have a thermostat for which Flair has an integration (ecobee, Nest, Honeywell Home, Honeywell TCC, Carrier Infinity, or Bryant Evolution) you have the option to let Flair intelligently manage the set point and mode on the thermostat. For many users Flair's advanced, room-by-room scheduling and ability to read temperatures throughout a home make using Flair's Set Point Control features a huge benefit to the comfort of their home.
It is not necessary to have one of the smart thermostats listed above.
Flair will work alongside any thermostat. Flair Smart Vents will open and close to redirect airflow in your home. When an integrated smart thermostat is not present, Flair Smart Vents will read the temperature in the duct to know when your system is heating or cooling and will open or close the Smart Vents as needed.
How do our Smart Vents know when to open and close
A Puck or other compatible temperature-sensing device will read the room temperature and this data will inform Smart Vents when to open or close. Every room with Smart Vents will need a Puck or other compatible temperature-sensing device (integrated smart thermostat, or the ecobee / Honeywell T9/T10 remote sensors paired to the thermostat). A Flair room can represent an actual room in your home, or a virtual "area", like "downstairs".
Mini Splits and IR Devices
Flair makes mini splits and other IR devices smart by adding scheduling, Home/Away, and a centralized app for control. It also introduces the ability to control these units remotely.
The Flair Puck sends IR (Infrared) commands just as the manufacturer's remote control does. You'll need one Puck per indoor mini split head, or other IR-controlled device.
The set point and mode for these devices can be changed via the Puck or the Flair app. Since these devices are IR-controlled, the Puck will need to have a direct line-of-sight to the unit it's controlling and be within the 15' range of the IR signal.
Flair can work with most mini splits and other IR devices that use an IR remote controller. We maintain a large database of IR remote codes and encourage you to reach out if you are unsure if we have a code set for your device. If we don't have a code set for your equipment we can usually record one if you are willing to send us your manufacturer's remote for a few weeks to be recorded. Flair's Room Sense feature reads the temperature at the Flair Puck and will adjust the set points sent to your device to ensure more accurate temperature tracking. Flair also offers a mode lock feature you can enable to ensure that your devices are kept in the same mode.
If you have a ducted mini split that does not use an IR remote, some manufacturers sell a wall-mounted IR receiver a Flair Puck can communicate with. You'll replace the thermostat with the wall-mounted IR receiver and position a Flair Puck across from the thermostat. The Puck will send commands to the IR receiver.
Hybrid Systems
If you have a Central system as well as some IR-controlled devices you can take advantage of Flair's Mirror Mode. Mirror Mode will send the set point read from a smart thermostat to other IR-controlled devices in the home. This is great when you want to keep the same temperature throughout your home for mini splits in converted garages, porches, attics, or additions. You'll need an integrated smart thermostat and a Puck for each IR device/mini split.
For homes with two heating systems (for example, mini splits and boiler heat), Flair can work as an integrated controller to switch between heating systems based on indoor or outdoor temperature. These "Staged Heating" features are available via our Pro line of products.