Is the new Quirky Norm really the “death of the thermostat”?

Each week it seems like we welcome a new competitor, or product to the home automation market. It is becoming more difficult to stand out in a very crowded segment of the electronics world. Today, Quirky the crowd-sourced home automation company, announced its latest products to help make your home a little bit smarter. Focusing squarely on the thermostat while dabbling in a few other areas, Quirky is looking to change the way our home temperature is regulated.

The interesting part is how its going to have a better feel for your tempature across the entire house.

This is were Norm comes in, Quirky’s answer to Nest, Lyric and all the other thermostats on the market. Utilizing small sensors that are placed around your house, Norm claims that it will create a more balanced temperature throughout by averaging the readings from each room. While this is not exactly individualized temperature settings for each room, it should in theory create a more even heating and cooling experience throughout the space.

Additionally, Norm can recognize where users are throughout the house with motion data collected from the sensors, such as the Spotter UNIQ. By doing so, Norm will be able to adjust the thermostat knowing whether the room typically runs cooler or warmer than the rest of your house. The Norm is expected to ship at the end of December with a price point of $80.

At this point, it is unclear how Norm is the “death of the thermostat”, certainly at a cheaper price point that the aforementioned comparables it is worth checking out. Speaking from experience as a Nest owner living in a old home, I do wish that my thermostat had a better gauge of my home temperature as a whole. Certainly the sensors provide a nice way of averaging out your home, in theory. Until we can get our hands on this system, it will be tough to say for sure if its going to put anyone else out business any time soon.

Quirky also introduced a few other products today, which add to its line of home automation devices. The Tripper is a $40 window and door sensor that monitors whether or not the window/door has been opened or closed. It runs on batteries with an alleged two year battery lifespan. Overflow is a new water sensor that detects moisture levels and costs $35. Quirky also released the smart wall outlet Outlink ($50) which monitors energy costs, Tapt ($60) which is a smart wall mounted switch, and finally Ascend ($90) that makes a garage door opener into a smartphone connected version.

The majority of these products work with the Wink app, which controls and monitors each of the smart home devices. The Wink HUB and Relay are required to make the system function together, either will act as a sensor for the Norm thermostat system. Check out the full line of products from Quirky here.

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