Jan. 21, 2004
LAS VEGAS - The new Infinity™ Control, introduced today at Carrier Corporation¿s North American Dealer Convention, boasts more "firsts" than any thermostat ever offered by Carrier.
As the command center for Carrier¿s Infinity System of furnace and air conditioning products, the Infinity Control is the first device to integrate and manage all six core comfort functions ¿ temperature, humidity, air flow, ventilation, indoor air quality and zoning ¿ into a single unit, optimizing efficiency for the greatest savings in energy costs. It also provides unprecedented comfort and diagnostic capabilities.
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The new Infinity™ Control,
introduced at Carrier Corporation¿s
North American Dealer Convention,
boasts more ¿firsts¿ than any
thermostat ever offered by Carrier.
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With its large, illuminated display, it is the easiest, most intuitive programmable controller to use, and the first to allow a homeowner to program an entire week¿s "comfort schedule" using plain language prompts. It is also the first to monitor a system and provide prompts concerning furnace or air conditioner maintenance issues along with the phone number of an authorized dealer. The new and exclusive TrueSense™ dirty-filter detection alerts users when their air filter is actually dirty and needs to be changed, without the need for extra sensors.
The Infinity control is also the first that will have the ability to "phone home" if there is a system problem, via a Remote Access Kit available in mid-2004. In the event of a problem requiring service, the system will automatically contact the dealer or homeowner through a wireless network and generate a phone and e-mail message.
"It's smart home technology that can be applied in any home in 2004," said Frank Hartman, vice president and general manager, Carrier Residential Sales and Marketing.
A Systemwide Approach to Control
The Infinity Control is designed for use with Carrier¿s top-of-the-line, Infinity variable-speed furnaces, but any Carrier air conditioner or heat pump, including those from the Infinity series, may be added. The control can also detect Infinity series equipment and manage other system components, such as zoning, humidifiers, ventilation systems, air cleaners and ultraviolet germicidal lamps.
It features a large, easy to read display (2.5- by 3-in.) and intuitive controls that make operation and programming simple ¿ truly an industry first. Vacation set-up is simple and, with optional zoning, zone names can be customized by the homeowner to correspond with parts of the home, as opposed to simply numbered the way conventional systems operate.
The system was also designed to be easy to use for basic users, and yet powerful enough for advanced users who want full control of their system. The basic setup allows the homeowner to set the hour, minute, day and humidity. The advanced setup provides access to customizable settings such as vacation temperatures and display brightness. The control¿s intuitive design means that, unlike conventional programmable controls, the homeowner does not need to spend hours with an instruction manual in order to properly program the system.
Other "firsts" for the control include:
- Owner-adjustable and programmable fan speed selections of
high, low, medium and auto, including control by zone, with optional zoning;
¿Plug-n-Play and Walk-Away¿ automatic system
configuration, without the need for DIP switches that must be set by the
dealer;
Plain language system diagnostics and memory to display run
and fault history for greater serviceability;
Automatic Duct Assessment, in which the system measures,
regulates and calibrates air flow to each zone daily; and,
Temperature and humidity control with only a four-wire,
color-coded connection between the wall control and equipment.
Easy to install, the new controller uses a standard four-wire connection to the furnace, compared with its predecessor, which could require up to 11 wires. There is only a single wiring diagram, instead of 31 depicting various configurations, as required for earlier systems. Once activated, the control automatically configures itself for the system components and accessories.
A Focus on Homeowner Ease of Use
¿Programmable thermostats have been around for many years as a way for homeowners to reduce utility costs at night when they are sleeping or during the day when they aren¿t home,¿ Hartman said. ¿In spite of their potential to significantly save
homeowners on their annual energy consumption, programmable thermostats have not been widely embraced by consumers or dealers. Our research and experience indicate this is largely due to the devices being perceived as too complicated for consumers to understand and program, and for dealers to configure and install.
"From the very beginning, we planned to make the Infinity Control a departure from all previous controls, especially in terms of homeowner ease," Hartman added.
The result of more than two years of development, the control combines Carrier¿s electronics innovation, centered at United Technologies Electronic Controls, with the human-factors engineering expertise of the renowned IDEO Product Development industrial design firm, along with multiple rounds of consumer tests and dealer input via Carrier¿s Partners in Development (PID) program.
¿We talked extensively with consumers and observed their experiences in the home with a variety of brands of programmable controllers,¿ said Mark Jones, human factors specialist from IDEO. ¿With the Infinity Control, we allowed the user interaction to drive form.¿
For more information on Carrier, visit the company¿s web site: www.carrier.com; or contact Carrier via e-mail at contact.carrier@carrier.utc.com or call 1-800-CARRIER.
Carrier Corporation is the world¿s largest manufacturer of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems and equipment. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX), provider of a broad range of high-technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.
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