Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI), a global leader in smart home technology, is officially set to expand its UEI TIDE family portfolio by introducing new features at the upcoming International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this January.
According to certain reports, the stated expansion will bring into the mix technologies like the UEI TIDE Dial, Touch and Bridge, available in various SKUs to cater to different market needs.
Furthermore, UEI TIDE Dial (US24) and UEI TIDE Dial (EU24/EUUSB) models will support, moving forward, Zigbee Coordinator functionality to deliver at your disposal a energy management platform which can be seamlessly integrated with HVAC systems, energy insight capabilities, as well as new software-defined occupancy and presence detection technology in QuickSet® homeSense. On top of that, these models can also be expected to offer Matter support, allowing for wide interoperability with major smart home ecosystems.
More on the same would reveal how UEI TIDE Dial’s new capabilities will offer several specific benefits that, on their part, should be able to enhance its capabilities and integration across smart home ecosystems.
“We are thrilled to expand our UEI TIDE family portfolio with new capabilities that enhance climate control and energy management by addressing key friction points, and delivering on-device actionable insights. Our next-generation platform will set a new standard for home automation and reimagine the role of a smart thermostat in the home,” said Arsham Hatambeiki, SVP of Products and Technology at Universal Electronics Inc.
Talk about these benefits on a slightly deeper level, we begin from the promise of managed network formation where, as a Zigbee coordinator, the UEI TIDE Dial can form and manage a Zigbee network. Now, when you consider that in the context of new installations, such a setup allows for cost effective delivery of a managed climate control or home automation experience when other hubs or ecosystems aren’t available.
Next up, we have device integration capabilities in play. You see, like we briefly touched on, UEI TIDE Dial can seamlessly integrate with various Zigbee-enabled devices, such as environmental or safety sensors, smart Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRV), smart shades, and smart plugs. Complementing the same would be its integration with IP-enabled smart home devices to reach upon a unified control system that will include multiple devices capable of communicating and working together efficiently.
Then, there is an energy management facility. Designed to thrive as a central hub with built-in on-device automation capabilities, the UEI TIDE family of smart thermostats can effectively optimize energy usage throughout your home, with or without internet connectivity. It can also manage HVAC systems, control heating and cooling levels, and adjust settings based on real-time data from connected devices.
In case that wasn’t enough, customers can also come expecting comprehensive energy insights. These insights will include actionable energy insights, with recommendations to optimize cost and comfort for users. The stated aspect, upon integration with the household’s energy provider, can tread up a long distance to help visualize usage patterns and recommend optimizations.
Rounding up highlights would be the introduction of a occupancy & presence detection capacity, which happens to draw its basis from QuickSet homeSense. From a practical standpoint, this technology empowers the thermostat to learn and adapt to varying home environments and individual user habits. The technology also supports the offering of a scalable, personalized, app-less, privacy-first energy management solution.
Among other things, we ought to mention how users can control hybrid systems that mix central and mini-split systems from a single thermostat through support for IR, making it easier to manage the whole home climate.
To top that, UEI TIDE Dial and Touch also support nevo®.ai, which happens to be the company’s AI-powered agent that offers support for on-boarding, remote control and built-in tier 0 support to enhance user convenience and control throughout the lifecycle of the product.
Finally, UEI will also give attendees a peak into its next-generation UEI TIDE PRO platform, which is going to feature a larger, higher-resolution display, support for on-device AI processing, and Thread and Open Thread Border Router (OTBR).
