Active and Inactive Rooms
Overview
NOTE: A system must be in 'Auto Mode' to use the Active/Inactive Rooms feature.
If a room is marked as Active, the set point will be maintained by adjusting Smart Vents, IR devices, and/or Smart Thermostats.
If a room is marked as Inactive, the set point will not be maintained for that room. That room may also be treated as a “dump zone,” where Flair may send excess heated or air-conditioned air in order to more carefully manage Active rooms. Another way to think about marking a room as 'Inactive' is to think of it as a room to 'ignore' or a 'vacant' room.
How to Use Active /Inactive Most Effectively
Inactive for IR Device Users (Minisplits, Window ACs, Portables)
When a room with an IR device is set to inactive, what happens depends upon the current 'Away Mode' setting (found under Away Settings). If the Away Mode is set to 'Off Only', the IR device will be turned off until the room is set back to 'Active'. If the Away Mode is set to 'Smart Away', the IR device will be generally be turned off unless the room temperature exceeds the 'Away Maximum Temperature' or is below the 'Away Minimum Temperature'. In that case, Flair will turn on the IR device in order to keep the room within the specified minimum and maximum temperatures and turn the unit back off once the room temperature is a few degrees past the minimum or maximum temperature.
Inactive for Central Systems
Setting rooms active and inactive is an important and powerful feature for central systems. When setting rooms to Inactive in a central system, Flair will generally close the vent(s) in that room. If however, more vents need to be closed in Active Rooms elsewhere in the home, Inactive rooms may be used as 'Dump Zones' and may be opened up.
When using Flair as the Set Point Controller for your Thermostat, Flair will evaluate whether it needs to nudge the thermostat's set point up or down. In doing so, it will look at all of the rooms marked as Active. If there are rooms at certain times that don't need to be carefully temperature controlled (a Livingroom at night for instance), marking that room as Inactive is recommended. This will ensure that the rooms marked as Active are more accurately temperature controlled and may help to save energy as the system will focus on a smaller percentage of the home.
Active/Inactive with Schedules
Flair's scheduling feature allows for rooms to be set to Active or Inactive at different times, on different days and in different rooms in any combination. To make an 'Inactive' Schedule Event, click on the top option called 'Schedule Event Mode' and select Inactive.
Pro Tip - Default Off for IR Devices
If you have a home, AirBnB, or rental and want the system to normally be off unless somebody adjusts the Puck, you can create an Inactive Schedule Event that spans all rooms, all days, and the whole day (we recommend setting 12:00 am for the start and end time). If you opt for this, Flair recommends setting your Away Mode to 'Smart Away' so that rooms don't get too hot or too cold. We also recommend setting a hold time, that is, the amount of time that an active set point will be maintained by Flair before the room resumes its 'Inactive' state. Setting a hold happens by either adjusting the blue ring on the room tile in the app or rotating the Puck physically. Hold duration settings can be modified in the 'System Settings' menu to be 3 hours, 8 hours, 24 hours or forever.
Pro Tip - Default Inactive Schedules for IR or Smart Vent Systems
You can create an Inactive Schedule Event that spans all rooms, all days, and the whole day (we recommend setting 12:00 am for the start and end time). You can then add additional schedule events to the schedule so that the schedule is effective 'Inactive' except for a few specific days/times/rooms. Here is a basic example of a room's schedule (the room name is 'Desk') that is normally Inactive with an Active section during office hours.