“It’s actually a good thing that I am writing this now, 6000 miles away from home on my honeymoon. Just a few minutes ago, I was able to check that no movement had been detected at home in the last few days. I also was able to see that the temperature was dropping, confirming that I had left the heating off as intended. Peace of mind, although our house will be freezing when we return in three weeks time.
As one of Minut’s early adopters you asked me what initially attracted my attention. What got me into betting my money on a Kickstarter product? As a long time bidder on Kickstarter, I pride myself on having learnt from past mistakes and ability to assess the feasibility of products. Yours seemed simple enough to work and clever enough to get my attention. Ultimately, what I saw was a well thought through proposition, with everyday, solid technology integrated into a futuristic product, at a very reasonable price. It’s amazing that the alarm is so easy to install and remove, rechargable, and the battery lasts for several months in my case.
As for my experience so far, I have used Minut in ways that I did not imagine when I first purchased the product. First, of course, is the temperature monitoring and tracking. Having access to graphs with historic temperature data helps me to not only ensure that I am not wasting unnecessary energy or feel cool, but also to experiment with different possibilities and options. Does temperature drop more gradually in the winter if I close the blinds at night? How much does the house cool down if I open the windows for fresh air? Thermodynamics at play…
Temperature tracking also helped me realise when I left my heating on while away. Same thing goes for summer with air conditioning. Summers in Madrid get pretty intense.
Due to my line of work, I periodically spend time abroad, often on a different continent. At times, I am away for weeks, and Minut has really helped me feel closer to my home, and my girlfriend, as I am able to make sure that everything at home is good for her. Is she warm enough? A particularly funny instance was the day I told her over the phone, “You just came out of the shower from washing your hair, didn’t you?'' She thought I had employed black magic, but it was in fact the spike in humidity every 2-3 days that clued me in.
At times, the noise detection feature has also been incredibly helpful. At first, it helped me to track and verify movement in the house. It also helps me remember if my girlfriend or I woke up in the middle of the night for a quick visit to the loo. Sometimes I just check the noise level at night that may disturb our sleep quality.
One of the most useful updates to Minut is the visualisation of motion data. I’m incredibly happy to now have access to reliable data on the movement in my home. I have my Minut set up in the hallway, where it can detect any intruders. We live in a small apartment, so anyone going in or out of the different rooms will trip the motion sensor.
I actually have a quite funny anecdote about the motion detection function. Our wedding was less than a week ago. We had tons of fun and partied for hours, until my girlfriend (from then on, wife) was too tired to dance any longer. We returned home and crashed in bed until the next morning. When I woke up with a slight hangover, I was unable to recall what time we returned to the house. Then I checked Minut. Holy moly!! It was 2:30 AM when we arrived home, but 3:15 when we finally went to bed? What were we up to? My wife, who had not been drinking on our wedding night, helped me recall that we had spent some time trying to doctor a huge blister on her foot. I am happy to report that she is now fully recovered.“
- Enrique, an early Minut user
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