Alarm.com’s Smart Humidity Control and Display brings exciting features to the Smart Thermostat. Alarm.com users with an eligible Smart Thermostat can view and control the humidity level in their home or business using the Alarm.com Website or mobile app.
A humidifier or dehumidifier can be directly connected to the Z-terminal of the Smart Thermostat, eliminating the need for a separate humidistat to control humidity. Air conditioners can also be used to dehumidify customer’s homes or businesses, so no new hardware is required. Customers can enjoy increased comfort, control, and property protection by setting minimum and maximum humidity thresholds to raise (with humidifier) or lower (with dehumidifier or air conditioner) the humidity level.
Humidity notifications provide an extra layer of protection against mold growth. The Smart Humidity function is beneficial in varying climates from very hot and humid areas in the summer to very cold or dry areas in the winter.
What do you need to use Smart Humidity Control?
Humidifier or dehumidifier.
Users without a humidifier or dehumidifier can still benefit from turning on the Smart Humidity Control feature. When the feature is enabled, users can lower their humidity using their air conditioner and view humidity levels
HVAC system must be properly configured with at least one stage of cooling and/or at least one stage of humidity control (Z terminal).
Alarm.com users with a Smart Thermostat and compatible panel can see their current humidity level by clicking on the thermostat card on the Alarm.com Website or mobile app.
The ADC-T40K-HD will display the humidity level on the thermostat’s display by default. The ADC-T3000 can display the humidity percentage locally in all modes when the Display Option is set to Humidity and the temperature is set to Fahrenheit. Humidity display is not supported when in Celsius mode.
No Smart Thermostat firmware version is required to display the humidity level on the Alarm.com Website and app, but the ADC-T2000 requires version 1.50+ to be compatible with Smart Humidity Control.
The following image displays a thermostat with a 44% humidity reading on the app:
The following image displays two thermostats on the home page of the Alarm.com Website. The first thermostat is in heat mode with a 20% humidity reading. The second thermostat is in auto mode with a 25% humidity reading:
You can enable Smart Humidity Control using the Alarm.com Website or app.
While the T40K-HD and T3000 are natively compatible with humidity control, the T2000 must be on version 1.50+.
To enable Smart Humidity Control using the Alarm.com Website:
Log into the Alarm.com Website.
Click Automation.
Click Add New Rule.
Click Thermostat Rule.
Click Smart Humidity Control.
Using the dropdown menus, select the desired humidity setpoints.
Click Save.
To enable Smart Humidity Control using the Alarm.com app:
Log into the Alarm.com app.
Tap Thermostats on the thermostat card.
Tap Settings Gear
Tap Device Settings.
Tap Humidity Control.
Tap the Smart Humidity Control toggle switch to enable it.
Tap Back
Tap Apply to save changes.
Set humidity target levels
To regulate humidity levels in a home or business, you must select target humidity levels, similar to how you set temperature targets for standard thermostat operation. The customer is prompted to set the humidity setpoints after enabling the Smart Humidity Feature.
To configure Smart Humidity Control using the Alarm.com Website:
Log into the Customer Website.
Click Automation.
Click Edit Pencil on the existing Smart Humidity Control rule.
Using the dropdown menus, select the desired humidity setpoints.
Click Save
Note: To disable Smart Humidity Control, click the toggle switch in the Smart Humidity Control rule.
To configure Smart Humidity Control using the Alarm.com app:
Log into the Customer app.
Tap Thermostats on the thermostat card.
Tap Settings Gear
Tap Device Settings.
Tap Humidity Control.
Use the slider to adjust to the desired humidity setpoints.
Tap Back
Tap Apply to save changes.
Note : To disable Smart Humidity Control, tap the Smart Humidity Control toggle switch.
Change the humidity differential
The humidity differential feature maintains a comfortable balance of both temperature and humidity levels in your home and is only necessary when the air conditioner is used to dehumidify the home. The humidity differential prevents a thermostat that is dehumidifying using an air conditioner from cooling too far below the cool setpoint. The default setting is 3⁰F (1.5⁰C) and generally does not need to be adjusted.
To adjust the humidity differential using the Alarm.com Website:
Log into the Customer Website.
Click > on the thermostat card.
Click Advanced Configuration.
Click Advanced.
In Humidity Differential, set the number of degrees the thermostat is allowed to go below the cooling setpoint when air conditioning is being used to dehumidify
Click Save.
To adjust the humidity differential using the Alarm.com app:
Log into the Customer app.
Tap Thermostats on the thermostat card.
Tap Settings Gear
Tap Device Settings.
Tap Advanced Settings.
In Humidity Differential, tap Add to increase the degree, or tap Minus to decrease the degree. This is the number of degrees the thermostat is allowed to go below the cooling setpoint when air conditioning is being used to dehumidify.
Tap Back
Tap Apply to save changes.
Smart Humidity notifications
Smart Humidity notifications allow users to be notified if the thermostat reads a humidity level above or below the specified threshold.
To create Humidity Alert notifications using the Alarm.com Website:
Log into the Alarm.com Website.
Click Notifications.
Click New Notification.
Click Temperature.
Click Humidity Alert.
Name the notification.
In When device detects a relative humidity, click to select Above and/or Below, and then use their dropdown menus to select the threshold humidity percentage.
In For the selected devices, click to select the thermostats the specified humidity threshold is applied to.
Click Add to specify which contacts receive the notification.
Verify all desired settings are set, click Save.
To create Humidity Alert notifications using the Customer app:
Log into the Customer app.
TapMenu
Tap Notifications.
Tap Settings Gear.
Tap Add.
Tap Use A Template.
In Temperature, tap Humidity Alert.
Name the notification.
In When device detects a relative humidity, tap to select Above and/or Below, and then use their dropdown menus to select the threshold humidity percentage.
In For the selected devices, tap to select the thermostats the specified humidity threshold is applied to.
Tap Add to specify which contacts receive the notification.
The HVAC system has a dehumidification mode, can that be used?
Yes. Most HVAC systems use a wire to control this mode. Determine which wire is used for humidity control in the user’s system. It typically is a non-conventional label such as X or S. Wire this into the Z-terminal and configure the terminal to be a dehumidifier. The system now knows when it needs to run in dehumidification mode based on the humidity setpoint set from the Customer Website or app.
What is the best humidity setting for avoiding mold growth?
Humidity over 70% greatly increases the risk of mold growth, which can cause significant property damage if left unnoticed or untreated. Alarm.com defaults the setpoint to 70% for this purpose. Some people begin to feel uncomfortable around 65% humidity, and mold growth can vary by region.
What is a comfortable minimum humidity level?
Most people find humidity levels below 25% to be uncomfortable, which is the default minimum setpoint. Some people find levels below 40% uncomfortable.
Does the Smart Humidity Control save energy?
Humidity control is primarily a feature targeted to maximize comfort. Generally, it requires more energy to maintain a comfortable humidity and temperature range than it does to simply monitor temperature. The true savings of humidity control comes from the property protection. Preventing high humidity levels that increase the chance of mold growth can save the customer from expensive repairs due to mold damage.
Does the Alarm.com Smart Thermostat work on battery power only?
It is not required to connect the thermostat to AC power, but when relying on battery power only, it is not able to act as a Z-Wave repeater. All other functions are able to be performed.
More information on Alarm.com Smart Thermostats can be found here:
