Smart home startup Quilt introduced a three-zone heat pump on Tuesday that promises to maintain efficiency even in demanding conditions that stymie traditional incumbents.
A three-zone unit does what it says on the label: one outdoor unit can now drive three indoor heads, as it’s known in the HVAC world. This is a product that will make large installations easier and cheaper while minimizing the footprint outside the home, and is key to the initial plans for expansion, which is recently turbocharged by $20 million Series B focused on expanding sales.
But the real story is how Blanket develop new products.
Since its inception, Quilt has prided itself on the amount of data collected from heat pumps. Not only does it connect to the internet, but it also has more sensors than a regular heat pump.
By analyzing that data, Quilt engineers can do things that other companies don’t. In September, for example, the same sent updates over-the-air for heat pumps in people’s homes that unlock an additional 20% capacity, which can be directed to one or two zones. With free updates, people can be more comfortable during heat and cold waves.
The team also used the data to develop a new three-zone unit and, in the process, solved an exciting challenge faced by many competitors.
Like all heat pumps, multi-zone units work best when they run at different speeds – that is, when heating or cooling demand is low, the compressor runs at a lower speed to provide just the amount of heating or cooling needed.
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But there is a limit to how low it can operate. The compressor becomes less stable at low speeds, making it harder to control. Matthew Knoll, co-founder and CTO at Quilt, compares it to driving a car at low speed. Maintaining an even speed of 70 mph is easier than a steady 11 mph. “It’s a bit difficult,” he said.
To compensate, most systems stop the compressor at a certain point, sacrificing efficiency and comfort in the process.
Instead, the blanket can draw on data collected from a thousand or more units already installed in people’s homes and businesses, providing insight into how systems operate in the real world.
“The way most systems are developed, they are tested in the Lab in several scenarios because the testing is expensive. And you end up with the kind that knows the average product,” Knoll.
“We have a thousand units in different climates, and if we see something, we can look at different units to understand if there is room to optimize or if we see a problem in the corner of the corner,” he said.
The company also uses larger copper coils than many of its competitors, which allows it to specify smaller compressors. That combination, along with a few other tweaks to the design, allows the Quilt to deliver nearly 90% of its rated capacity (27,000 BTU) at -13˚ F (-25˚ C) without sacrificing the desired performance or efficiency. Quilt says it is the most efficient three-zone mini-split on the market.
To save energy, each indoor head can be individually controlled, providing 2,210 BTU heat or 1,570 BTU cooling. If heating or cooling is not required, the refrigerant still flows through the lines as in other heat pumps. But thanks to the low-speed performance of the outdoor unit, it only releases around 300 BTU heat in heating mode. That’s as hot as a full-grown adult.
Where does Quilt go from here? Knoll wouldn’t comment on future plans other than to say that Quilt “wants to be able to have a solution for the whole house.” More products are coming soon, and it’s likely that more data will help drive their development.