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  • Official comment
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    Flair Customer Support

    -- OPEN BETA PROGRAM --

    Hi All,

    We're pleased to announce that we have completed phase one of our Carrier Infinity / Bryant Evolution smart thermostat integration. This will provide parity with our current smart thermostat integration features.

    If you currently have a Flair system and are using a Carrier Infinity or Bryant Evolution smart thermostat, we welcome you to volunteer for our Beta program. If you're interested, please email support@flair.co with the following:

    1. Email subject: Beta program for Carrier Infinity / Bryant Evolution smart thermostats
    2. Email body: I'd like to volunteer for your Beta program for Carrier Infinity / Bryant Evolution smart thermostats.

    We'll send you a link to our NDA, and then our team will be in touch with you.

    All the best,

    Finn

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    Chrissie

    Hi Gary,

    We have reached out to them via the provided email addresses here: https://openapi.ing.carrier.com/Content/pdf/getting-started.pdf  but haven't gotten a response from their team yet.  We are currently back channeling since they aren't responsive on these email addresses.

    All the best,
    Dan

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    Gary Menszyk

    Thanks for looking into this. Sounds a bit discouraging though.

    Looks like the API was released years ago (2016) and I can't find a single reference to any one using it in the past year :-(.

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    Gary Menszyk

    @...

    The document you referenced above appears to have been updated on July 23, 2020.

    This seems to indicate the program is alive!

    Can you see if this is alive. Flair providing integration through Carrier thermostats would be a great selling point.

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    Flair Customer Support

    Hi Gary,

    I've added a feature request so we can track this. Thanks for the update!

    All the best,

    Finn

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    Rob Eckert

    Hi, is there any update on this feature?  Or can you look at the Infinitude project https://github.com/nebulous/infinitude  to provide an integration?

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    Greg Lyons

    Installed 16 vents and created 5 zones over the summer and it has helped for sure, but still no direct control due to no Carrier Infinity integration, any updates?

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    Gary Menszyk

    Carrier's API is obviously available. There is a HomeBridge plugin at https://github.com/grivkees/homebridge-carrier-infinity which uses the Carrier API to allow access to Carrier/Bryant systems via Apple Homekit so Flair should be able to put something together to get this working.

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    Chrissie

    Hey All, Quick update - We signed an API agreement with Carrier and are roadmapping the work internally.  Now that the Nest integration is out of the way, we have a few different projects for our engineering team in Q1 but this is definitely one that we are pushing to get in the engineering queue.  If there are specific features or behaviors you'd like to see with this integration, please do share!

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    Greg Lyons

    That's great to hear.  I'm happy to be a beta tester when you get something functional.  Integration to control the zones and set the schedule from the flair system and have that port back to the "carrier schedule" (or however the API allows for connecting) would be ideal.  Just having the system be functional and call for the areas that still need served would be great.  

    We have about a 5F temp difference across in two different zones during the winter so far with the middle of the house were our current thermostat is.  Having this would be a game changer for true controllability.  

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    Rob Eckert

    Besides the obvious of being able to turn the AC/Heat on when needed, I think being able to intelligently control the 2stage heat/cool and 3 stage fan would be good.   

    i.e. if one room needs heat, the fan and heat should be turned on low, and maybe a limiter to not have the fan high if more than a certain percent of the vents are closed.  

    I can't remember if your devices had the pressure sensor on them as well, but if they do then the fan speed can be intelligently controlled by the pressure in the system as well.  i.e. if the pressure is too high, turn the fan speed down a setting.

     

     

     

     

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    Gary Menszyk

    Fantastic news. Been waiting for 2 years for something. Now to see how much functionality in the Carrier API.

    • Knowing when the system is on heating or cooling instead of inferring would allow things to be more responsive.
    • Being able to set the Carrier targets for heating and cooling would finally allow closed loop control.
    • Taking advantage of variable fan speed and Carrier stages to manage back pressure would allow much more flexibility than the current scheme.

    I was about to give up and retrofit Carrier zone controls and scrapping the Flair vents/pucks but will hold off pending a potentially useful solution from Flair.

    Now, if only Flair would support Homekit integration... (I know there is a Homebridge plugin, but not the same as true integration).

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    Chrissie

    This is awesome feedback and appreciate the speedy input.  I know I have been salivating at getting variable speed control integrated with the vents since we started the company, literally :)

    I think Gary Menszyk's list includes the requests from above.  Sharing this thread with the team and will try to come up with some timing.  Given its January, my hope is that we could be in good shape for AC season with some late winter/early spring testing.  Since its a bit more advanced (I hope!) than what we do with ecobee, Honeywell, and Nest, I'm guessing we may need a tad more time to build confidence and tweak logic.

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    Upen Patel

    I have been waiting for Flair integration with Carrier Infinity to buy the system. Good to see that you are finally looking into it. Happy to be a beta tester.

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    Steven Martinez

    I have two Carrier Infinity heat pump and air handler systems in my house and would love to test this product/integration. I have been looking for a product such as this to keep the right temperature across different rooms that would work with my Carrier Infinity systems.

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    Gary Menszyk

    Any update on this regarding timing?

    Thanks.

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    Greg Lyons

    @.... Same comment as above, any updates on timing?

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    Chrissie

    We are working on this!

    Cheers,
    Dan

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    Erik McClure

    We have a Carrier Infinity system that keeps the fan running all the time. We recently bought a couple Flair vents to test with, but when we realized the vents are closed by default, we looked into replacing the thermostat with an Ecobee for the Enhanced Circulation feature, only to then realize that using anything other than a Carrier thermostat is problematic at best, due to the proprietary wiring. It is absolutely critical that our vents open up when the furnace/heat pump isn't running, due to CO2 buildup at night. I am hoping that this integration comes soon and has an Enhanced Circulation feature like the Ecobee so that we can upgrade our whole house to Flair vents - I really don't want to have to return our Flair system, as it works great aside from not being able to talk to the thermostat. If you are looking for beta testers, I would be happy to participate.

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    Gary Menszyk

    Erik McClure sounds a bit scary re the CO2.

    Not sure how having recirculation would help with CO2 buildup (except to redistribute it through the house). Would seem that fresh air would be needed and simply recirculating air would not help in the long term.

    I wish we could get some idea how well this integration will be able to deliver and how far along the development has progressed.

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    Erik McClure

    Gary Menszyk To be clear, the concern is not CO2 buildup in the entire house (although that happens too, just more slowly). We have two rooms in one corner of the house that are very small and get stuffy very quickly if the occupant closes the door to block sound. If the vents are always blowing in fresh air, we can open a window in another part of the house where someone isn't sleeping and keep fresh air coming in while letting people sleep peacefully. If Flair vents close automatically, this doesn't work and we can't use them in those rooms, which then means those rooms get too hot or too cold.

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    Chrissie

    Erik McClure
    We have a featured called enhanced circulation that seems like it should solve this once the first phase of integration is complete.  https://support.flair.co/hc/en-us/articles/4412857346701-Enhanced-Circulation

    As a quick update - we are currently working to first get to parity with ecobee/nest/honeywell for carrier infinity meaning mode, setpoint, etc. read/write.  A second phase of the integration will be to work more towards tying the modulation features of the equipment to the smart vents in interesting ways.

    Cheers,

    Dan

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    Flair Customer Support

    Hi All,

    It sounds like some of you would benefit from Flair's Enhanced Circulation (EC) feature that will open Smart Vents when the system is not actively heating or cooling. This will aid with circulating airflow.

    Right now EC is only available for integrated smart thermostats: ecobee, Honeywell and Nest.

    HOWEVER - we are currently working on allowing integration for Carrier thermostats. We will do Carrier integration work in two phases:

    1. Parity with current thermostat integrations
    2. Advanced features around Carrier

    Once phase 1 is completed you'll be able to use Enhanced Circulation with your Carrier thermostats!

    I'm unsure of the timeline for the public release of our new Carrier integration, but if you want to sign up for our Beta testing, we'd love to get your input!

    Here's the form to sign up: Carrier Smart Thermostat Beta Signup

    Please note that we will begin beta testing in the Fall of 2022 and you will be contacted then for participation instructions.

    All the best,

    Finn

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    Patrick White

    Chrissie, will this integration work with Bryant Evolution systems as well?  They appear to be the same as Carrier Infinity.

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    Chrissie

    I don't know that question off hand but we'll ask our point of contact at Carrier and get back.

    Cheers,

    Dan

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    Gary Menszyk

    I am assuming you are using the 

    Infinity®/Evolution® Systems Open API

    https://openapi.ing.carrier.com/docs which is supported for both systems.

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    Chrissie

    Yeap - and our point of contact said it will work with the Bryant Evolution since it's the same API.  Woohoo!

    Cheers,

    Dan

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    Patrick White

    Excellent news! Looking forward to this integration.... Also hoping you come out with 4x14 vents so I can complete the system for my house.

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    Gary Menszyk

    Great hearing phase 1 is complete.

    I assume those of us who have signed up earlier will be contacted soon to be able to test this out.

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    Patrick White

    Do we have a timeframe on when the beta will go live?  I've filled out the NDA, both through the original link a few months ago as well as through the email as indicated.  Really looking forward to jumping on this.

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