Cosa, one of the leading products of Türkiye’s smart home technologies, promises comfort by providing intelligent control in boilers and air conditioners used in living areas. Cosa, which offers convenience and cost-saving opportunities in heating and cooling systems, provides services with expert teams in order to contribute to a sustainable life. Smart Cosa Co-Founder Cem Gul explained the company’s innovative projects and his experiences in the sector.
Can we get to know you a little?
I graduated from the Department of Chemistry of Koc University. Immediately after university, I worked in several companies for about 10 years. I have carried out technology-oriented studies at companies such as Mercedes, Microsoft and Vodafone. I have gained experience in product management, marketing and sales-oriented fields. Then I have made a huge step to put these experiences into life, established Cosa, and I have been running the company for 5 years now.
Can you tell us the story of Cosa?
First of all, we set sail with the awareness that there is a need for Cosa. Then we moved forward to do our own things. It has become our most basic principle to be able to manage the heating and cooling systems in our homes in a more efficient and cost-effective way. I realized that a problem I had in my own house was actually a common problem for almost everyone. With his common problem, different styles of use were developing in each house. According to statistics, 72 percent of users in Türkiye make irreversible mistakes due to such different ways of using. For us, this was a rate that cannot be underestimated. We have seen that the cost of improper use is quite heavy. The consumers were not able to use their systems comfortably, despite the high invoices they paid. Based on this problem, which concerns all of us, and by using technology better, we thrived to meet consumers ongoing demands. We started with ourselves and the people around us, and aimed to reach all users in time.
Where are Cosa products designed?
Our products are designed at Istanbul Technical University Energy Technocity. There are technocities in different fields at ITU. In our location, there are other companies like us that focus on energy-themed businesses. In this area, where there are about 15 companies, the products and projects focusing on bio-energy, solar, and energy efficiency in households are being designed. We also presented our project to the technocity administration and put it into practice.
What should be done for energy efficiency?
Depending on the location of the house, structure of the building and type of apartment, heating systems such as boilers, central systems or A/C systems are preferred. The easiest and most essential method by which savings and control can be achieved is “proper maintenance”. It is vital that maintenance is carried out regularly to prevent larger problems at a small cost. In addition to the correct placement of the radiators, the insulation of the building and windows is also one of the main factors. Using a room-thermostat, which is a standard in Europe, is unfortunately not very common in Türkiye. Although energy efficiency is a priority in industrial and commercial buildings in Türkiye, I believe that its application in homes will also become mandatory. Considering that we buy 90 percent of the natural gas from abroad and consume 1/3 of the natural gas we buy at our houses, doing this will save our country a huge amount of money. Therefore, every savings will make it possible to reduce our country’s dependence on natural gas.
Can you tell us about your smart energy solutions?
We have completely focused on more efficient consumption of energy in houses. We offer different solutions for different house types. The Cosa smart room thermostat was initially a product that could only manage the boilers. Thus, we have produced suitable infrastructures and technologies that will ensure an increase in savings and comfort in boilers. Afterwards, we turned the same technology into one that can also manage A/C systems. In centrally-heated houses, the only method by which savings can be achieved is to increase and reduce the current setting of the radiators. We are designing a product for a more practical method. With our product, which we will introduce shortly, users will be able to give commands for each room separately via their mobile phones.
Do you also offer a mobile application for this purpose?
Yes. With the Cosa mobile application, it is possible to view the condition of the houses. Thanks to the different features of the Cosa mobile application, it is also possible to manage the house from the outside. We have designed Cosa to be compliant with “home”, “sleep” and “outside” modes. No matter where you are, you can save energy by managing the current heat. The most enjoyable part of this technique is that it offers the possibility of weekly programming as well. Without the need to change the mode, Cosa is able to implement it for you. Cosa also takes into account your proximity to home. This high technology product, which switches to saving mode when there is no one at home, starts heating the house when it senses that someone is approaching. As a company, we also offers products for big businesses as well. For example, we apply the different components of this technology to giant brands like Arcelik and E.C.A.
Cosa is a product designed to further improve existing savings.
Are Cosa products made up of portable parts?
Cosa consists of two devices. One of them stands in a place that offers the widest usable area in our houses. It is offered as a portable smart room thermostat that measures the room temperature and humidity. It is actually a component that can be connected to a boiler, removing the need for using cables. While wireless communication is established between the room and the boiler, this also makes installation easier.
How does Cosa affect the current boiler usage habit?
Cosa is a product designed to further improve existing savings. In the application, users are asked a few basic questions and the user’s savings potential is estimated. Every winter season, we do a savings-oriented research. Two years ago, the average savings rate of Cosa users was 31%. Last season, we saw that it increased to 37%. Our expectations are even higher for this year.
How popular are your products among the consumers?
We have received continuous positive feedbacks as we are the pioneer of this business in Türkiye and provide products with domestic production. We did not design our products like a black-box and attached great importance to their visual appearance as well. Features such as the product’s being unique to Türkiye and its health benefits attract the consumers positively. Also, the efforts by our consumers to make the product they use more widespread in Türkiye makes us very happy. This application, which measures the savings, also creates interactions between people.
How do you improve your interaction with the consumers? Is it possible to fix the malfunction experienced by a user who is miles away from?
We have a customer services unit that answers consumers’ calls, messages and e-mails. If the user is connected to our cloud infrastructure, we can see what the problem is. In case it’s an issue that we can’t resolve by remote intervention, we take the product by cargo to examine. We also have service units in major cities.
What are your export targets?
We recognize that different countries offer different potentials. Accordingly, the 4th generation Cosa was designed as a product that could reach the European market. We are about to start cooperation in countries like Romania and Italy. Seeing the interest in this subject during our fair participations also makes us more hopeful.
What do you think about the future of the sector?
The transformation of boilers and A/Cs into more efficient ones also has a significant impact on the country’s economy. I believe that positive steps will be taken towards intelligent technologies in the next few years. These types of technologies will be among the standard products in our houses.
