- chris
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Updated: Jun 11, 2019
Built out of necessity, then transformed for the world to use. See where it all began.
My smart thermostat journey began in February 2016 when working in air-conditioning installation. I was tasked with integrating a Nest Learning Thermostat into one of our customers high efficient Daikin ducted reverse cycle inverters, after one of our project managers took our famous “can do” approach a little too literally. When he was asked whether we could fit a Nest, his initial response was “of course, how hard could it be?”
After the job was quoted and promises were made, my team approached me (being the company’s leading controls technician), Nest in hand – “make this work on that system” was how I seem to recall the request.
At first, I eased into the project, head held high ready for a simple integration. Boy, was I wrong! Long story short, this was no simple feat. I was determined and in the end we engineered a solution.
THE TRANSFORMATION
Our solution was great, however quite complex. We could install it into our customers homes and everyone was happy. Well, not everyone. You see, we had forgotten about the rest of Australia (and the world)!
We now had a new goal: to transform our solution into a sellable product that any customer could purchase, regardless of their distance from Canberra.
This part of the journey has been the hardest as there where so many hurdles put in our way. When we conquered one issue, another would appear. We felt like we had bitten off more than we could chew.
Another one of our major issues was the fact that we have an air-conditioning installation and service company that needed our constant attention and support. As air-conditioning was paying the bills, we had to ensure it's needs were prioritised. Finding time for research and development of EZLink was difficult to say the least.
FINALLY, A PRODUCT
The day has come. We have a product that is ready to ship. It has a box. It has a brand. It has a job.
That job is to fill the gap in the smart home market. You will not be disappointed.