Device Management Suite for Daikin Smart Thermostats and Indoor Air Quality Sensors

Features mobile apps and cloud web solutions for homeowners and Daikin dealers

Case Highlights

Helps register and configure IAQ sensors
Facilitates integration of IAQ sensors with smart thermostats
Enables homeowners to remotely control and adjust heating and cooling systems installed in their homes
Detects data discrepancies
Provides remote access to the thermostat’s history in order to fix system failures

Daikin Industries Ltd. is the world’s largest manufacturer of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for residential, industrial, and commercial use. Their products and services are marketed in more than 150 countries. Daikin actively uses AI/IoT technologies in its solutions to meet the challenging needs of the environment.

Problem

The client developed the Daikin One ecosystem and the Daikin One+ smart thermostat at the heart of it, which helped them dominate the HVAC market.

The Daikin One ecosystem is a complex solution for temperature, humidity, and air quality control. The Daikin One+ smart thermostat is an intelligent home air controller that offers full two-way communications with all Daikin HVAC systems.

The customer turned to Softeq to develop mobile and cloud web solutions for their Daikin One ecosystem. Softeq was tasked with creating two mobile applications. The first would help Daikin dealers integrate the Daikin indoor air quality (IAQ) sensor with the Daikin One+ smart thermostat. The second app would provide homeowners with comprehensive control over their personal thermostats.

In addition, the client wanted to develop a tool to collect data from both the IAQ sensor and thermostat clouds. We also delivered a support edition of the tool—an assistive portal for the Daikin support team.

Solution

device-management-suite-for-daikin-smart-thermostats-and-indoor-air-quality-sensors

A Mobile App to Register and Configure Indoor Air Quality Sensors

The Softeq team designed a mobile solution (iOS, Android) for Daikin dealers which helps them install the IAQ sensor, connect the sensor to the app, and integrate with smart thermostats. The sensor measures the indoor level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter particles (PM) in the air. If the level is exceeded, the system automatically sends notifications to start streamer and filtration functions in order to decompose and remove airborne allergens or to replace filters if they’re out of date or clogged.

The app, as well as the thermostat, needed to display indoor air quality indexes measured by the sensor. If a homeowner doesn’t have IAQ sensors, the thermostat can display an estimate based on filter runtime.

How the App Works

1) Daikin engineers initiate the provisioning of the sensor: install it, switch it on, launch the app, and log in

2) Next, the app connects to the IAQ sensor via Bluetooth

3) Engineers find the homeowner’s account by email and request to connect the thermostat to the IAQ sensor

4) After successful installation, homeowners can see the IAQ data both on the Daikin One+ thermostat and in the app

A Mobile Application to Manage and Remotely Control Daikin One+ Smart Thermostats

Our engineers also helped the customer create a mobile application (iOS, Android) compatible with all Daikin One+ smart thermostats. The app helps homeowners remotely monitor and adjust heating and cooling systems in their homes, and provides full control over all thermostat functions.

Application Functionality

Homeowners can use the mobile app to:

Monitor and control multiple Daikin One+ smart thermostats installed at home
Edit schedules for the Daikin One+ smart thermostat
Select Adjustment or Away mode
Change thermostat settings remotely
See current weather and forecasts for each location
Receive thermostat reminders and alerts
Configure a geofence perimeter to automatically switch between Adjustment and Away modes

Security

Both apps utilize a secure connection with user authentication and authorization steps.

WatchDog Monitoring Portal

S1-daikin — The IAQ sensor stores its data in the IAQ data cloud, while the thermostat uses its own IoT thermostat hub. To display the data from the sensor on the thermostat, the thermostat hub should collect the data from the IAQ cloud and deliver it to the thermostat.

S2-daikin — We built WatchDog—an internal analytical web portal with the primary goal of collecting data from both clouds, comparing it, and identifying data discrepancies. The web tool unloads data every 5 minutes and checks for any differences. This kind of data monitoring helps discover and fix all potential issues related to data inconsistency.

WatchDog Support Edition

To assist the Daikin support team in troubleshooting their products remotely, we developed a support edition of the WatchDog portal. The support portal contains the emails of all users. When a user has some issues with the thermostat or IAQ sensor, they call the support team. A specialist finds the user in a list and sends a request to remotely access a homeowner’s thermostat. Then the specialist sees the thermostat’s history, as well as sensor actions, operating modes, and errors, and is able to assist in fixing the problem. If they are unable to assist remotely, the specialist will refer the issue to the appropriate dealer.

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Result

Project Outcomes

Softeq met the deadline and helped get the products to market on time. Both apps are currently available for iOS and Android users on the App Store and Google Play. The collaboration is ongoing, and the Softeq team is currently working on improvements and some new solutions for the customer.