Flair Smart Vents (1+ Year Update)

It's been over a year since I installed my first Flair smart vents. In this video, I talk about how well they are holding up and would I still recommend them. The Flair vents are replacing all my Keen vents that just slowly stopped working. If you would like to save 10% on your purchase of the Flair vents use this link flair.refr.cc/rickyh

[@shalamigri]

I've been with Keen for years, but I'm disappointed with their longevity, support and server uptime. I'm still using them, but I stopped using their app due to the server always being down. That was wreaking havoc on my HVAC system. I'm now using the Keen vents with a Samsung Smarthings app. The only problem is that a lot of my vents fault out because the open and close switches in the vents get stuck a lot. I've been thinking about switching to Flair vents. My house has 20 supply air vents. 3 of those vents are in the basement which originally only had 1 supply before it was finished. All but 5 vents in my home are Keen vents. The more I learn about these setups, the more I think I probably only really needed 3 vents on each level. The REALLY big problem in my house is that 2 rooms and a hallway on my 2nd story get really hot in the summer. This section of my house faces south and gets a lot of sun. The other rooms on this level are ok for the most part. Keen vents only helped a little. Keen vents would allow me to keep those rooms around 78 on hot days. What seemed to help more in the summer was to install Smart Cocoon Booster registers in 2 of the hot rooms. These seat deep in the in the floor and may be able to be used with Flair vents on top. That allowed me to keep temperatures in those rooms between 73 and 76 degrees which was more acceptable for my kids. I'm thinking a good setup for me would be to install 3 Flair vents in the basement, 3 on the main level and 3 on the 2nd story. So in the summer when more air is needed on the 2nd story, the 3 in the basement could pretty much be closed off to deliver more air to the 2nd story when needed. I'd probably only need 1 gateway Puck in my setup because I already have Ecobee sensors in every room of my house. i can just set desired room temperature straight from the app. Still undecided what I'm going to do right now. 9 of my 12 Keen Vents work pretty good so I may be able to do what I need to do with them.

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

The one thing I love about the Ecobee is the fan runtime. In the winter, my sun room gets up to 76 degs. The furnace won't run because it's so hot upstairs, and the basement gets really cold. So having the fan run 50 min per hour helps even the lvls out. When ecobee turns the fan on to circulate air, it also tells flair to open all the vents. But at night I have to remember to turn the fan run time down to 25-30 mins per hour. Have you tried running the fan during the day to keep the air moving ?

[@shalamigri]

@@Ricks_Tech_Talk Yes. My set up is very similar to yours. I use ecobee's schedules and 4 comfort settings. Fan runs nonstop during my noon comfort setting. It only runs 20 minutes every hour during my sleep comfort setting.

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

@@shalamigri Ok you just said something I didn't know you could do. I have been turning the fan run time up to 50 mins during the day and 25 at night. You're saying we can program that in the comfort settings? I know the fan can be turned on but Flair won't open the vents for just the fan. But they will for the air circulation feature, that's what I need for the daytime.

[@shalamigri]

@@Ricks_Tech_Talk So sorry about that. You can only toggle the fan to on or auto in comfort settings. You can't adjust the fan runtime. Still a nice feature though. However, you can adjust the fan runtime in a Smarthings app made by Yves Racine. Name of the app is EcobeeSetZoneWithSchedule. App works good with Keen vents, but many of my vents have either failed or, are about to fail. I've already lost a couple of vents and 3 have to be reset periodically. The big problem with those vents is that the internal switches for open or close get stuck sometimes. I use to take the vent apart and free the switches, but i got tired of doing that. I just kind of tap the vent now and that does the trick. I have some Flair vents coming. From what I've researched, I think I like the flow of the Flair vent system better than Keen. I like the idea of have gateway pucks that allow you to connect to nearby vents and also have the ability to use those pucks for making adjustments and changing settings.

[@MStar10]

Seems like alot of hassle and settings. I just need the basement to be less cold and the 2nd storey to be more cold. Will these vents work for that? I have aria vents that look nice but have no functionality

[@ericpmetze]

I was sitting here with Flair stuff in my cart, and after watching this video, I'm clicking the checkout button. Thanks for this! I just used your referral code.

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

10% off is better then noting, I'm glad you seen it. Thanks for watching the video

[@kevinjgoff]

how did they work out for you?

[@teemoney9860]

Dang I thought I had a good invention idea today...

[@shalamigri]

All I can say is that as far as connectivity, these are much better than Keen Home vents. Too many faults and the need to have to reseat the batteries all the time.

[@ppi57]

I wanted to see you demonstrate the vanes opening & closing... speed, sound etc.

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Hey Rich are you on Facebook? I could upload a video for you on my Facebook if you would like

[@keller8100gmail]

They don't open and close. I mean "sometimes" they do, after my daughter's room is 80 degrees. Flair is very unreliable.

[@chriswhite4832]

Could you use these vents to create a dual zone control? Like for instance could I install in all downstairs rooms and close them all at once to force air upstairs??

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Yes, you could have it done by temperature or do it manually in the app. In the summer I have all my basement vents stay closed. But If I turn my furnace fan on to circulate air in the house, all vents open then close when the fan is off.

[@Pawsum1tiger]

So I have rooms with no returns so it's gets really hot and ac works really hard cool the rooms. Does this help

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

In your case I would say no. Sounds like you would have to close a lot of vents to push air to the hot rooms, and that is not recommended. Try getting a return duct in the hot rooms. Or try venting the room to another room that as a return. Some old homes have air vents above the doorway to allow air to move out of the room. You can also try a fan that is installed in the air duct that feeds that room. It helps push more air to the weak rooms, I'm not a fan of them ;)

[@omargalil7672]

Do you use ecobee thermostat and sensors? Or did you have to buy a puck for every room?

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

I just started using some sensors but most the rooms have a puck. I have one room with just a sensor, It's used to close the vents when I'm not in the room. The good thing about having pucks is they can work as a hub when the power cord is plugged in to them. So space the pucks out in the house to get good coverage, and use sensors in the other rooms. But I must say it's nice to be able to adjust the temp with a puck sometime rather than finding my phone.

[@coreypendergrass6713]

Do you have to buy the Flair puck or will they work with other smart thermostats directly, like ecobee?

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

If I remember correctly, you only need one puck and that would work as the hub. Then you can use ecobee sensors for the other rooms.

[@jeffwayne3054]

Great video. A quick question: if I only want to schedule open/close vent rather than temperature control (let’s say at night I turn off all vents on first floor and at day I close all vents on second floor) do I need puck for all rooms or do I just need a beacon? Thanks a lot!

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Only need one puck, but the vents must be in range of that one puck. If they are too far away, you need more pucks. Not sure if you can do open and close based on a time. You might want to send them a message first. Thanks for watching.

[@daniel91364]

If I have two vents in one room can 1 Puck run the two vents in one room?

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Yes, when you create the room in the app you assign all the vents and the one puck for that room.

[@sandeepnepal3887]

Hi I have 4 rooms on my upper level and has 5 vents. Do I need 1 puck per room or just 1 puck is enough to control all 5 vents in each room?

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

if they are different rooms, you will want a puck or echobee sensor for each room.

[@rambalu80]

I currently have a zones HVAC unit with an ecobee thermostat for the upper level and another ecobee thermostat for the lower level. I have multiple ecobee temperature sensors to monitor the temperature but only one Flair puck currently for 4 Flair vents installed in 3 different rooms (2 rooms on the upper level and 1 room with 2 Flair vents on the main level). 1 Puck set up as a Gateway is enough for me, except that the WiFi signal for one of my upstairs flair vents is not great for communication with the puck. I think they recommend 1 puck per 1000 sq. ft. and you can connect, if I am not wrong, up to 16 Flair vents to a puck, assuming they are all within communication range of the puck.

[@wontsteal]

how loud do these get when closed and AC is running, compared to normal vents when they are closed? Thank you

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

They are about the same at my house. They don't rattle or have a whistle to them. On one unit, I added some felt tape to the blades to make it seal better.

[@TheDocskibum]

Wanting to upgrade my 75% furnace with a combination of smart registers and a variable furnace high efficiency . Is there compatible systems?

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

For the furnace, no it won't matter. The thermostat I would recommend, an ecobee.

[@wayssup]

Thanks for the video, I used your referral link as a thank you

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Awesome, thank you!

[@Nick19837]

Any way to make this work with homekit?

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

No, but it does work with Google and Alexa

[@Caseylawton]

These things are so expensive, their margins gotta be huge. I gotta imagine that's why they can throw in a screwdriver and Energizer batteries haha

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Have to agree

[@mcdanglikewhoa]

Do these work with combo systems? I am thinking about a house with a swamp cooler, a heater, and a window AC unit. The upstairs always ends up too hot, would these help?

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Not sure David. I have no clue what a swap cooler is, so I have to go watch some videos :)

[@XxStonedImmaculatexX]

So these take strictly batteries?

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

They can be wired to a power source as well. In my first video, I showed it. I found the time stamp for you so you don't have to watching the full video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4mkdZ1_jLaWj5I

[@abeibrahim5846]

Great review - BUT, for this price, one expects to see a backlight on the puck and a fan to ensure air flow for rooms with weak airflow.

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

The backlight for sure. I might have to send an email in about that. Thanks for watching

[@davidperry4013]

They are basically residential VAV boxes

[@pault477]

So the puck works just with batteries?

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Yes they all work with 2 AAA batteries except the main one, that needs to be wired with the usb cord. The puck you decide to be the main one can be in any room you like.

[@pault477]

@@Ricks_Tech_Talk so the main one is like a hub. Is one main one enough for one house?

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Yes the one pluged into power is the hub. But you need a puck in everyroom that you have vents in so you can set the temputure for that room.

[@pault477]

Hmm - they didn’t include a screwdriver with mine. Oh no !

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

I think a lot of companies are finding ways to save money. Well you're not missing out on anything special lol. Thanks for watching

[@RussWilsonII]

One thing I don't understand is if the Puck can make the thermostat kick on -- i don't see how that's possible... so, if one room is hotter than the rest, but the thermostat located in a "normal temperature" area of the home, how can the puck turn on the A/C to help cool down the room the puck is in? Am I misunderstanding the technology?

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Flair takes over and controlls the thermostat if its compatible. Flair will ask for heat or A/C when need but it takes a average of all the rooms on the system.

[@davelindenmuth1421]

And, if you want to shut the HVAC off and open the windows, the Flair puck will continuously turn the HVAC system back on. Nothing irritating about that!

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

@@davelindenmuth1421 Dave, that sounds like you have them set up a bit differently. Mine does not turn on when I turn the thermostat off. But if the fan is set to run a few mins every hour, it will still run the fan. That is an Echobee problem, not flair. If your system is turning the heat or air back on try contacting them. They have helped me fix so many problems when I integrated my Ecobee. Good luck

[@davelindenmuth1421]

@@Ricks_Tech_Talk The Flair puck during setup presented a check box which allowed it to control the thermostat. I thought “What harm could it do?” 🤓 I’ve pretty much given up on reaching their tech support. I may just drop a trash bag in the floor opening and drop the vent back in at night when I need less A/C in the living room and more in the upstairs bedrooms.

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

@@davelindenmuth1421 Sorry to hear that Dave. I first had a lot of issues after I paired Flair with my thermostat. But they did help me understand how they talk to each other. I usually get an email back the next day, if you haven't check your spam folder. I ran my vents for over a year without them being connected to my thermostat. Maybe try having yours just open and close based on the temperature in the room, and discount the thermostat from them. The app might look simple, but I get things so messed up when I start messing with it. They can see everything on their end and tell you what needs to be changed to get the outcome you're looking for. If you can't get anyone to respond, try emailing me, maybe I can help. [e-mail]

[@pumpkineater_69557]

You leveled a circle! Lol.

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

LOL only I could do something like that... Thanks for watching it :)

[@PriyankuBaruah]

I wonder why no one talks about static pressure with these vents. That's the only thing keeping me from buying them

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

It was a big worry for me. I'm not sure if Flair has pressure sensors on the vents or if it goes by how many you have in the house. Some of mine have opened a few times and the app says it had to open the vent for static pressure. So if I close all the vents the system will override it and open as many as it needs to. I have a EMC motor on the furnace and still no problems. But if you have most of the vents closing at once, you probably need to adjust your thermostat. Hope that helps

[@rambalu80]

Flair vents do monitor the static pressure and their system is designed for no more than 33% of the vents are closed at any given time that the HVAC is running. Their app has a neat feature where you can monitor the pressures and several other variables.

[@treadless_co]

Screwing the vent to the floor is not necessary. It sits on the floor just fine :)

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Yes it would be fine on the floor but for I screw mine done so the little ones cant hide things in the air duct lol

[@JB-yq9bn]

Play working age back that worked in running energy saving utility programs can these products sound like an absolutely horrible idea when you reduce the airflow moving through a system and impacts the furnace and air conditioner could you sing airflow causes energy usage to go. I can also cause the compressor to die because compressors don't depress the width so when you don't have enough air moving across the oil filter refrigerant does a foil off and liquid goes back to the compressor on the heating side when you reduce air flow and overheating a heat exchanger you can actually start to weaken the metal going through an extremely hot on cycle and off and cooling expansion and contraction can crack the Heat exchange. The real solution to the problem is to have an aircraft start to get the correct amount of air going to the rooms

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Sorry, I didn't understand everything in your comment. But my system has never been better. The furnace has the correct amount of flow going through the system at all times, the flair system will only allow so many vents to close at one given time. That keeps the furnace from starving from a lack of air flow. Also, the return vents never close, so the furnace still get all the air it needs. Yes, you could cause a lot of problems if you closed too many vents in the house, but this is all calculated with sensors in the vents. Thanks for the comment and watching the video.

[@richardshipp6996]

As an engineer, there type of products anger me. You can’t go shutting off air into rooms and over ventilating the others. Now you are pushing the air from the closed vent rooms into the others. You are not saving anything. Not to mention, you are creating warmer areas in the house and causing temperature equalization from the other rooms. Terrible.

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Good point, but some rooms get more air flow than others and don't require it 24/7 In my case the first room off the furnace gets most of the air flow, now it closes after hitting the set temp. Without the vent in that room, the temperature can get up to 80 in the winter and 66 in the summer, our set temperature is around 71-74 I see no need to have them in every room, and they are not for every house.

[@richardshipp6996]

@@Ricks_Tech_Talk Got ya. That can easily be solved by having a company air balance the rooms though.

[@techfun123]

@@richardshipp6996 What you are suggesting in most cases just isn't possible. Without zones or literally ripped out the trunks its near impossible to "air balance" a room. Many random elements, sun, rain, clouds, people taking hot showers and a million other things. Most homes have hot areas at times and cold areas, equalizing it with a sensor is definitely a good thing.

[@jamesjudd6577]

Apparently there are levers that control openings in the ductwork. That is how you balance the rooms out. Never seen it personally but there are KZbin videos on it

[@jghall00]

The problem is that location and room use can impact flow needed. One side of my house gets colder in summer and has PC equipment that heats it up. But it's only an issue in the afternoon. There are automatic dampers but they need to be wired into the house HVAC.

[@keller8100gmail]

I'm aware of the 1 degree over and off the sensors average and possible connection issues and always open advanced vent option etc. 3 to 8 mins to respond for an open or close and sometimes longer...

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Ok I get it now. I see the same problem, but not that long. Mine is about 2 mins sometimes. If you contact them, plz let me know what they say about that.

[@keller8100gmail]

Flair vents don't work. Unreliable. My daughter is roasting in her room because the vent won't close when the heat is on. Really ticks me off! Notice that Flair's tutorial videos have comments TURNED OFF. Hmmmm... wonder why that is?

[@Ricks_Tech_Talk]

Ask for help in the app. They will reply in a day usually. If you have a puck or sensor in her room, you might have the settings wrong. I don't have my smart thermostat paired with Flair because it was doing a average temp of the two. So after changing a few settings, I got it tuned in real good. And remember, the vent will close after its 1 degree over the set temp, so you might want to set it 1 degree less. Best of luck to you