Sensibo Sky is retailing for US$119 (S$169) and shipping to Singapore is an additional US$7.88 (S$12) for normal international shipping (via SingPost) or US$17.33 (S$25) for express international shipping.
Shipping is free if you are buying more two or more Sensibo Sky.
A pack of two Sensibo Sky retails for US$238 (S$338), a pack of three retails for US$297 (S$422), and a pack of four retails for US$396 (S$562).
Sensibo Sky is the second generation smart air conditioner controller from Sensibo. I heard of Sensibo before as I have reviewed similar products like the Ambi Climate and tado.
I am not impressed with the first generation Sensibo smart air conditioner controller. It is clunky because it comes with two units, a smart pod which you are supposed to place on your air conditioner and a hub which is connected to your wi-fi.
With Sensibo Sky, everything is in a single unit connected to Sensibo’s cloud (I am pretty sure the word “sky” is derived from it). This is something Ambi Climate and tado have been doing all along.
Sensibo Sky supports almost any air conditioner that has a remote control. You can check if your air conditioner brand is supported here.
Features
- Works with almost any air conditioners
- 7-day scheduling
- Automatically turns on and off your air conditioners base on your phone’s location
- Ability to share the use of Sensibo Sky with family or colleagues
- Third party integration with Amazon Echo, IFTTT and has an open API
Unboxing
It is powered using a micro-USB cable, but the cable is fixed to the adapter. I ended up not using the included power adapter as I already have a USB charger near my air conditioner.
Setup
To start the setup, you can download the Sensibo iOS app from App Store or Android app from Google Play.
The setup process is straightforward and fast. Probably the fastest if you compared it with Ambi Climate and tado.
You scan the QR code on Sensibo Sky, connect to the wi-fi network that is being created by Sensibo Sky and use it to connect to your home’s wi-fi network.
Once that is done, you just have to point your air conditioner remote control to Sensibo Sky and press the power button on the remote control. That is all it takes for Sensibo Sky to detect the correct Infrared (IR) signal to use for your air conditioner.
It is a smooth process, unlike tado where you have to go through so many tests before it can detect your air conditioner correctly. It is even faster than choosing your remote control model which Ambi Climate uses.
Once you have setup Sensibo Sky using the app, you can access and control your Sensibo Sky remotely using a browser as well.
Using
Sensibo Sky’s features are what you will expect out of a smart home device.
It allows you to control your air conditioner remotely as well as creating schedules so that you can choose when to turn on or off your air conditioner.
It has geofencing (known as Location Awareness in the app) so that you can use it to turn on or off your air conditioner when you are arriving or leaving home.
By default, it is disabled. You need to enable it by tapping on the map pin icon at the top, and it will prompt you to mark your house’s location.
Once that is done, you can drag up your air conditioner to the location as shown in the screenshot below.
You can check the time you turn on, turn off or change the temperature of your air conditioner in the recent events settings.
There is an interesting feature called “Sync A/C Power State” which allows you to indicate the power state of your air conditioner if it happens to be out of sync with the app. So far this is the only smart air conditioner controller device that has such a feature.
Sometimes you might use your physical remote to control your air conditioner, and I am surprised that Sensibo Sky will intercept that and update the app accordingly to show the correct power state.
Again, Sensibo Sky is the only device that does that as when I use Ambi Climate or tado, the power state of my air conditioner will be out of sync if I use a physical remote.
Besides scheduling, you can also set your air conditioner to turn on after X minutes. Personally, I don’t find this feature useful.
Third Party Integration
Sensibo Sky supports IFTTT and Amazon Echo. It also has an open API that you can use for your smart home project if you need it.
Sensibo Sky integrates natively to Amazon Echo using Amazon Alexa Skills. Just search for “Sensibo” and install the skill on your Alexa app.
After doing that, the Alexa app will prompt you to discover your smart home devices and your air conditioner name should appear in the Smart Home > Your Devices screen.
I named my air conditioner “Master Bedroom” on the Sensibo app, so I have to say “Alexa, turn on Master Bedroom” which sounded weird.
I recommend suffixing your air conditioner name with “air con” or you can be like me and create a device group called “Master Bedroom Air Con” in the Alexa app and move the “Master Bedroom” device inside it. Once that is done, you can say “Alexa, turn on Master Bedroom Air Con”, and it will sound more natural.
To set your air conditioner to an absolute temperature using Alexa, you can say, “Alexa, set Master Bedroom Air Con to 24°”.
I have not found a use of IFTTT yet since the Sensibo app itself supports geofencing. Geofencing is my main reason for using IFTTT because not every smart home app supports it.
Conclusion
I think Sensibo Sky is a good smart air conditioner controller that is priced reasonably at US$119 (it sometimes drop to US$99).
Having native integration with Amazon Echo reduces the need to rely on IFTTT, and that is a plus point. You can even integrate it with your smart home system using the open API.
Besides using the Sensibo app or Amazon Echo to turn on or off your air conditioner, you can also use the physical air conditioner remote control.
Sensibo Sky will intercept the IR signal from the remote control and will update the app to show the correct state of your air conditioner. This is possibly my favorite feature of the Sensibo Sky.
If you don’t need to climate control your room which is what Ambi Climate does, Sensibo Sky will be a better alternative than tado for you.
Question about Sensibo Lester. Can I set the unit to turn my air con on or off at a particular temperature?
Nope, it is either on or off based on the last temperature you set.
Actually, the scheduler has the option to choose the temperature and fan level and mode you would like to set. So yes, you can.
Ah yes! You are right! I have to toggle the on to show the settings! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ee248ed0acc757e4859b1e70d88aa1ed8f0641f6a7257542e152c9e22e3c10da.png
Hello!
Can I check if one Sensibo pod is able to support multiple aircons in the house?
Thanks!
Sensibo Pod is the first version, I am not using that so I can’t comment on that.
Hello Lester
Sorry my bad- Can one Sensibo Sky support multiple aircons?
Thanks!
Nope it is just one. But of course if both your air con are within the IR radius of the Sensibo Sky, it should work as well.
Hi Lester, this intrigues me. I have a sensibo sky controlling 1 aircon, but I do have another aircon in the same living room close to each other. So you’re saying that if the IR is within the radius, 1 Sensibo Sky can control those 2 air cons?
Yeap, as the IR Blast, two aircon will receive the same signal.
Hi Lester, you ordered directly from their website? I am thinking to order to Malaysia but only express shipping is available?
I am not too sure about Malaysia. But it might be possible that there is no normal shipping to a certain country. You can email them =)
Hi Lester, would like to ask is the geofencing accurate? For example, I would like the app to switch on my aircon before I reach my condo unit, probably when I am at the guard house? Is that possible? Can I use it with the apple home app? or I must always use the sensibo app to do any changes to the temperature, etc. Thanks!
It is not HomeKit compatible, so you have to use the Sensibo App. The Geofencing is based on Apple’s Geofencing API and the distance accuracy is normally at least +-200m. That means before you reach your guardhouse, it will already be triggered.
Do you have problems with the pods dropping off wifi? Mine do that every few minutes.
Nope. Not that I am aware of.
Hey Lester, would you go with the Ambi Climate or the Sensibo Sky? Trying to weigh the pros and cons, the Sensibo Sky has geofence and all but also noting that it might be a little more obtrusive with the installation and such? I’m pretty sure Ambi Climate does not have geo fencing just yet and such?
Correct. Your understanding is spot on. Ambi Climate ensures that the temperature of the room is comfortable by automatically increase/decreasing the temperature. Sensibo Sky is like an extended air con control that makes your aircon automated.
There is a new version of Ambi Climate coming soon, I am not sure what features it will have.
Thanks! Appreciate it heaps 🙂 Hoping for homekit with Ambi Climate but with the prices of the Homekit hardware doubt that’ll set it. Anyway great website, especially for a local context. Interesting reads! Yeah might go for the Ambi Climate over then.
Side Question: Do you know if I can set up multiple air conditioners to one Ambi Climate? Otherwise I’ll have to buy one for each AC and that’s gonna cost a fair bit.
Nope, you can’t unless the IR blaster is in the range of both aircon. Like for example, if you have two air cons side-by-side in the living room, then you just need one Ambi because the IR can blast to both at the same time.
Right, thanks a lot! Appreciate it! Last question, how far is the range of the IR Blaster if you’ve tested it out? I’ve got a couple of situations that might require such a set up.
Hmm I have not post tested the range, but I have no problems in the master bedroom for a normal HDB 5 room flat. My aircon is on one side of the wall, and Sensibo Sky is on the other end.
Oh snap they’re launching a v2 later this month. I was going to settle on an ‘extended remote’ which is the Sensibo but I might just wait for the new Ambi Climate, depending on price.
Hi Lester, how would you compare Sensibo Sky, vs using Remotec that is connected via Fibaro? Thanks
Personally, I think Sensibo Sky is more stable. My Fibaro HCL always gets 503 for the latest firmware, and I think Z-Wave is not as stable as I hope it would be.
I bought the 1st generation last year, works okay. Just got the Sensibo Sky, connected it and the 1st generation Sensibo stop working. I sent an e-mail to them explaining the situation and this their reply, the first generation Pods will be disable when the system recognize the Sensibo sky, so basically it seems as if they are selling new devices and stop supporting the older ones after a year of service. I will be going with Tado for the next set.
Don’t buy this piece of junk. It is useless and if you try to return it they will try everything to stop you. Avoid at all cost!!!
Your comment/review can be more constructive. It seems very one-sided.
For the other side go and see there commercial. It is full of lies and unfulfilled promises+they have epic customer support…..just great
I don’t know about that… I’ve been using mine for over a month now and I’m extremely happy with it. The aircon is on when I’m home and it turns off automatically when the last person leaves the house without even having to touch the remote.
I’ve managed to set up homebridge on my mac mini server and now I can even control it using Siri. The Facebook group is active and the developer is answering every question asked.
I have order a Sensibo Sky and I was charged to USD $15 for shipping it to Hong Kong address. The way when it arrived HK, I got a SMS message from the shipping company “SF Express” that my package has arrived and I can pick it up at their location. I call the shipping company and they said they will charge another 15 dollars if they have to ship it to my home address. I email the support team in Sensibo and complain about the arrangement. Their feedback to me is here in exact wording –
“Hi Simon,
No where does it say on our website that it is door to door.
It only says express 7 day shipping.”
Happiest customer ever. Beware if you guys planning to buy anything from them. Shipping doesn’t mean it will ship to your home. You can end up picking it up yourself in some random place.
Great review! I’ve read this, the Tado and Ambiclimate articles.
Is this unit, or any of these AC controllers capable of turning off when you leave the room – independent of geolocation? Like an occupancy sensor.
I live in the Caribbean where electricity is VERY expensive and I need it to shut off when the room is empty.
Nope. Not sure how feasible the idea is because you need an extra sensor for that and most aircon controllers are only in one unit.
Hello nice review and creating some thoughts..
I would like to know if it is possible to do the following
” If the temperature is higher than 28°. Celsius at 8:00 PM switch on the air conditioning with ventilation level 1 and temperature of 22°C and stay on for 4 hours.”
can you tell me if this is possible with the ambi 2 or sensibo sky?