Many of you know that Flair builds indoor air quality (IAQ) technology and Internet of Things (IoT) products, but what you don’t know is why we choose to operate in this space and our plans for improving it. Which is why, in our first blog post, describing our DNA is the most important thing we can do.
What We Believe
Within the Internet of Things, there are innumerable standards, vagaries around data ownership, closed consortiums and walled gardens. Privacy and security are too often secondary concerns. At Flair, we aim to use open standards and ensure that you always have easy and open access to your data. We aim to be widely interoperable while making sure we protect your privacy.
We also know that each home is unique and that the smart home ecosystem is already diverse. Rather than force consumers to make a choice between platforms, we are prioritizing numerous quality integrations and are excited to leverage data from hardware you already use and love.
Whether your system is one we haven’t heard of, homegrown, new or old, our open api is readily available to IOT DIYers in the Flair community. You can find it, along with other documentation at https://api.flair.co. It won’t be final until the first units ship, but it should give you an idea of our goals for openness and interoperability. Shortly, we will also make available client libraries on our github account to make working with Flair even easier.
Community is important to us. The Flair Forum is a place you can go to ask questions and engage with other Flair enthusiants.
What Motivates Us
Flair got started during a long Chicago winter. In order to make Dan’s apartment more comfortable, he was opening and closing vents and constantly monkeying with his thermostat. After nearly two years of exploring and tinkering, followed by hardcore research and development, Flair is bringing to market the first heating and cooling system where each room adapts to its specific occupants’ preferences across virtually every type of heating and cooling system - without you having to lift a finger.
In addition to perfect comfort, we are passionate about smart energy usage. While there is always a trade off between comfort and energy consumption, Flair wants to make the world more comfortable while incorporating meaningful energy reduction strategies into its products. This is a lofty goal, but by developing the most comprehensive occupancy layer, working with deployed hardware, and working with leaders in our industry, we are making this goal a reality.
If you can’t already tell, inclusiveness and accessibility are a big part of who we are. This means that while you can use your phone or computer to control Flair, those without a device or account can still interact with our products via the physical interface on each Puck. Smartphones are great, but they can leave kids, guests and grandparents out in the cold. Flair also works with all kinds of systems: central heating and cooling, mini-splits, window units - systems common to virtually every continent.
Flair is dedicated to building the best of the Internet of Affordable Things. Smart, connected and secure energy management shouldn’t be a luxury. We are excited to bring these capabilities to every home.
When we say Hello World, we really mean it.
