Small Scale to Big Ideas: Technology in the Modern Home Even those homeowners who haven’t embraced complete home automation systems now have their pick of simple product upgrades that pack a major impact. Join three vanguards in the home tech industry: Matt Rogers, co-founder of Nest, Phillip Prestigomo, director of industrial design for Legrand, and Richard Gresens, senior director of North American design for Whirlpool. We'll delve into how these design-forward companies are shaping the smallest details to the broadest concepts surrounding what it means to have a smart modern home for today and tomorrow. Catch the lively discussion Saturday, June 22, at 1:00 p.m. on the Sustainable Design stage.

When Willson is within 30 miles of the house and the temperature is below a certain level, his Nest Thermostats are programmed to heat it up to 70 degrees.

Nest There is not other smartphone-controlled device as successful as the Nest thermostat. It is as the forefront of a new smart home industry, and looks amazing while at it. For more on the nest, read Dwell's previous coverage and check out how readers like you nest. Photo by: Nest

Smart Temperature Control–Like Goldilocks’ porridge we want the temperature of our homes to be just right, all the time. Enter the smart thermostat, a hot little high-tech gadget that is almost too cool for the room. Many smart thermostats have the ability to learn your preferred home temperature habits and then program themselves accordingly. While you’re away, a smartphone app allows you to remotely dial the thermostat up or down, so you’ll never waste money and energy heating or cooling an empty house.

Smart Thermostat Sure you already have a thermostat, but does your thermostat measure your energy usage and tell you where you can cut back? Does your thermostat remember when you turn the heat or air conditioning on and off, and adjust automatically? If you answered no to any of these questions, you are missing out on one of the coolest gadgets of 2013.

The familiar thermostat design can be used without the app, as well. Like previous Honeywell thermostats, turning the exterior wheel changes the temperature, and an audible click indicates each degree of change. The all-white exterior uses motion sensors to light up with control displays, and then dim when you walk away.

Lyric by Honeywell, $279 For its new thermostat, Honeywell sticks with the round shape Henry Dreyfuss introduced in 1953. It syncs with your phone to determine your location, adjusting settings to real-time indoor and outdoor weather conditions and temperature. Apple HomeKit–compatible. Read more about Lyric here.

Like its peer, the Nest, it takes into account information like bedtimes and the sunrise to use heating and cooling systems efficiently. Honeywell expects that you will control it mainly through the app itself, which lets you change the temperature from any location, or set it to a timer so the house gets warmed or cooled according to your expected arrival time.

The Nuheat Signature floor-heating thermostst is wi-fi enabled.

The rest of the device’s interface is deliberately basic—the only buttons are used to start the “At Home” and “Away” cycles, or to bring up a 12-hour weather forecast. It’s a far more approachable interface than the dense screen display found on Honeywell’s other thermostat, the voice-activated Alto.

As an established mega-company with volumes of proprietary technology to its name, Honeywell’s Lyric will be particularly competitive with the Nest because it is the first in what will likely be a wide range of Honeywell-brand smart home products. On its own, too, the Lyric is capable because of its geofencing capabilities and attention to the functional design traits—carried over from the brand’s rich appliance history.

Clear-yet-subtle labels mark controls for water flow and temperature on Axor’s Select Thermostat.

As Greenfab explains, “Each bedroom is equipped with a wall-mounted, thermostat controlled, convection heater that intakes the ambient air in the room, warms it up and re-diffuses it throughout the room in a silent and consistent way. By using the existing heat in the room to maintain a comfortable temperature, energy and money is saved through this heating method.”

Electronica thermo-static tub filler by Michael Gottschalk for Blu Bathworks, $5,655 This remote-controlled fixture allows you to fill your tub remotely to your desired temperature.

Nearly every room has a Nest Mini, and the house also has a Nest Wi-Fi router, a Google Home Max sound system, and a Nest Thermostat.

ÖÖD Iceland has a number of sustainable features, including substantial insulation, triple-glazed windows, thermally modified timber, programmable thermostats, and LED lighting.

As an example of IFTTT as “digital duct tape”, BMW’s “Warm Welcome Home” Applet opens the garage door as soon as the car pulls into the driveway, turns the house lights on and sets the Nest Thermostat to 72.

Smart home integration let you control the lights with your voice, set scenes, and display the temperature from a Nest thermostat, air quality and humidity from a Netatmo Weather Station, or the name of the song playing on your Sonos.

The smart thermostat by Trane makes controlling the temperature from anywhere with a smartphone a breeze. The Perilla Table Lamp by Dabito for Mitzi is paired with a vintage nightstand.

Equipped with new bathrooms and updates including remote-controlled thermostats, the trailers combine retro exteriors with chic interiors. Each trailer also has its own iPad, loaded full of city recommendations and must-haves like Netflix. The device can be affixed to the wall, or even the ceiling so you can watch movies in bed during your stay.

Designed for modern luxury, the spacious layouts at Solaia showcase expansive, energy-efficient windows, rich dark espresso flooring, in-home, full-size washers and dryers, and spacious living rooms with gas fireplaces. Advanced smart home features, including lighting, thermostats, and Latch keyless entry, enhance convenience throughout residences and amenities.

A/C Heat Thermostat

Denny Fong of Toronto, Ontario, invented the Norm smart thermostat and sensor. "The largest tech challenge at Quirky to date? The thermostat," Kaufman says. He and the company began to question the very premise of the technology. "It's one of the most outdated products," he stated. "You don't need thermostats, you need sensors to keep the ideal temperature." Instead of controlling heating and cooling based on a single thermostat, Norm can pair with sensors throughout a house to detect temperature and humidity in individual rooms and allow you to set a schedule based on your budget.

The "Nunes" Nest We love mid century modern and danish modern and are slowly, but steadily refurnishing, painting, and re-styling our nest! We have an old honeywell thermostat...so BORING! Would love to see a nest thermostat over the credenza...the finishing touch for that wall. My two sons have one and are very happy with it and the ability to set the thermostat with their mobile devices...it's time for Mom and Pops to have one.

Nest doorbells, thermostat's and smoke detectors

A look at the Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd Gen).

The white thermostat looks great in simple, modern homes.

The bath features Spanish Majorca tiles and a thermostatic rain head shower.

Fully functional, thermostatically controlled greenhouse for year-round use.

Our new black thermostat blends in with dark walls and stylish decor.

Smart home with LED Lighting, Ecobee Thermostats, SmartThings hub, and built in Alexa voice services.

HENRY DREYFUSS Thermostat, "T86 Round". Manufactured by Honeywell, Inc., 1953. Photo: Cooper Hewitt

Inspired by the The Round, Honeywell’s 1953 T86 thermostat that’s currently in the Smithsonian Museum, the M5 Classic Smart Thermostat is a whole lot smarter. It can not only control your heating and cooling intelligently, but it also acts as a central point for all your home’s systems—it can help monitor and manage air quality, detect water leaks, and monitor energy use and security when paired with other Resideo products.

All the tech panels (such as the breakers, inverter, security, air conditioning thermostat, ceiling heater, and furnace) are located in the hallway for easy access from the outside.

Wood stove on the open-concept main floor. For more tech-forward warmth, a Nest thermostat regulates the space.

The shower features a teak grated floor and thermostatic shower valve that always starts at the same temperature it was last set to.