Make your air conditioner smart and frugal with a Sensibo AC controller for $89

Central air conditioning is great for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the ability to control it using a smart thermostat. What you might not realize is that you can make an ordinary window AC unit (that works with a remote control) smart without spending a lot of money. Consider the Sensibo SKY smart AC controller. Usually priced at $150, you can get the Sensibo SKY for just $89 right now when you apply promo code CHEAP10 at checkout. That's an exclusive discount for Cheapskate readers at ZDNet Academy.

The Sensibo SKY is a small gadget that started life as an Indiegogo project, but it has been a retail product for some time now. It connects to your air conditioner and in turn connects to the internet via your home network. From there, it gives you a lot of power: You can set up a geo-fence, for example, and instruct the AC to turn on automatically when you come home and shut off when you leave. You can give it voice commands via Alexa or Google Assistant. You can control it remotely using a mobile app on your phone, and monitor the temperature and humidity remotely. The app also lets you set up a seven-day schedule for your air conditioner.

Sensibo claims that it can help you save up to 40% on your air conditioner's energy consumption by making it behave smarter and respond to your presence, rather than simply running all the time. Your mileage may vary, of course, but one thing is true: It's much more convenient to use your AC without fishing for the remote and needing to remember to turn it on and off through the summer heat. 

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