There have been several articles, recently, that center around the concept of predictive maintenance technology.  This is not necessarily new to the market.  In fact, these technologies have been around for quite some time now.  The renewed interest can be attributed to the fact that the predictive capabilities are now being turned on residential spaces.  Previously the technology (because of the cost of operation) was reserved for commercial and industrial spaces.

Bluetooth technology and smart devices, though, have opened the market up, making it possible for homeowners to afford the advanced services. The concept is simple – regular maintenance routines are not always ordered as diligently as they should be by homeowners, and they do not always detect internal complications in the system.  Now, internal sensors can give digital feedback to the homeowners and technicians, alerting them to potential problems before truly expensive issues arise.

It will be some time before homeowners have the level of feedback and control that commercial and industrial properties have.  Rather than relying on smart devices and Bluetooth, these facilities are equipped with building management systems (BMS), which monitor all of the HVAC systems in the facility and provide automated control of these systems.

In order to provide this level of control, the systems themselves employ onboard sensors that communicate with the BMS systems. These devices include duct mounted temperature sensors, outside air temperature sensors, and pressure transmitters. With time, undoubtedly, the residential technology will catch up to this, offering an entirely new level of control over the HVAC systems in the home.