netatmo by philippe starck, a smart radiator valve with voice control

phillipe starck has designed in collaboration with netatmo — a smart home company developing intuitive connected consumer electronics — the ‘smart radiator valves’. the voice-controlled netatmo by philippe starck valves allow users to reduce their energy consumption and to control their heating remotely, room by room. the radiator valves feature translucent e-paper screens, for a clear temperature display and low energy consumption. their minimalist design intertwines elegance and functionality. 

designboom spoke with phillipe starck about the netatmo smart radiator valves, where he discusses the design process, his relationship with netatmo and his views on smart homes and IoT / internet of things.

designboom: can you tell us about the design process behind the netatmo smart radiator valve?

philippe starck: the netatmo smart radiator valve is directly aligned with the netatmo smart thermostat from 2013 which i designed out of my love for fluids and the invisible, which here is air. air is an evidence for us and to pay tribute to this obviousness i made my best to do the minimum. both the thermostat and the smart valve are an evocation, like a ghost, an elegant minimum that gives intelligence to a wall or radiator and you can choose your favorite color for the frame to personalize it. the radiator valve is smart, fast and easy to use. in one glance you can check the temperature and in one movement on your smartphone, you can control it. in fact, those home accessories contribute to help people out: energy is not a luxury and should be accessible to everyone.

DB: this is not the first time you collaborate with netatmo; how has this relationship grown and are there any new projects coming our way?

PS: I can only collaborate with people with whom I share the same values, and people from netatmo are truly good people: they work hard to offer a really interesting technology, they are creative people. through our two collaborations, we could say the message is: we have the best technology and for your pleasure, we are going to make it the most invisible possible in order to adapt to your environment. netatmo products belong to honest and intelligent creations of the future, they are oriented towards democratic ecology, a concept I personally laud for decades. therefore, our professional relationship came naturally.

DB: what is your opinion on IoT (internet of things) / smart homes and us connecting our everyday objects to the internet?

PS: technology is fascinating as it is where human intelligence expresses itself best: this is where you will find true inventions and visions which continuously help us to foresee the next big moves in the future. it is always an amusement for me to see what the human brain can produce. so I would say I am in favor of using any possible available technologies, as it is poetic if we see it as the symptom of human intelligence.

the next thing to think about is: for what purpose are we using IoT. the most crucial parameter is to make sure it helps people and improve, even a little bit, their lives. if a technology will permit to a single person to heat up his diner just in time for when he gets home, why not. here with netatmo, technology, and IoT directly serve ecology and make us more aware of it and of the necessary to save both energy and money for ou future’s sake.

37% of energy savings without compromising on comfort

netatmo ‘smart valves’ work just as well in houses with individual heating already equipped with a netatmo ‘thermostat’, as in those that have collective heating. users connected to collective heating systems can now benefit from a new smart heating solution, with timeless phillipe starck styling. fitted on hot water radiators, the valves regulate heating on a room-by-room basis. they set a heating schedule for each room, adapted to the lifestyle of their inhabitants. by having better control over their energy consumption, users save 37% on energy to heat their home.

netatmo ‘valves’ can also be applied to homes without the ‘thermostat’ 

three smart features incorporated into netatmo valves allow users to make energy savings every day include:

open window detection: the ‘valves’ detect when a window is open and immediately stop heating the room so as not to waste energy.

smart regulation: the ‘valves’ precisely analyze external elements in real time—the weather, insulation of the house, the number of people in the room, electrical appliances being used—and adjust the heating of the room to save as much energy as possible.

manual boost: the user can temporarily increase the temperature of the room at any time. this can be done by manually turning the ‘valve’ or adjusting its temperature from the app.

voice-controlled heating with apple home kit

the smart valves use wi-fi to synchronize with the app and users can access the ‘netatmo energy app’ from their smartphone, tablet, PC/mac. the accompanying app can control the ‘valves’ and the ‘thermostat’. apple homekit allows users to control each of the home smart devices and make them work together, straight from their apple devices. via siri, users can control heating with their voice. additionally, they can create customized scenarios to connect smart devices together according to different combinations. for example, lighting and heating will turn on when users come home, or off when the family is sleeping. netatmo offers the only complete heating solution in europe that’s compatible with apple homekit.

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