The place I'm renting has this thermostat: https://www.honeywellhome.com/us/en/products/air/thermostats...
here's a video showing how to program the one I have: https://youtu.be/-yGtoDOXpPY?si=PQgv1wO8-ztz2-xt&t=58
To program it you need to tap: Menu -> select -> arrow button -> select -> select -> select .... and at this point I stopped tracking because you get the point
Not saying that the "Dream Thermostat" is perfect, but it's heading in the right direction.
Exception is the "Make it a bit warmer for 2 hours" button (which leaves alot of room for interpretation and error, i.e. what is "warmer", should the 2h start while still heating up, WILL it even heat up within 2 hours,...), but that is more or less achieved by just rotating the dial, as whatever is set will be overwritten when entering a new timeframe...
Nothing fancy in there, no Wi-Fi or anything, just a display, a dial and a few buttons under a lid.
I configured this once, and all I do is move a switch from "automatic" to "permanently cold" in summer to stop it from switching to heating
Is this too much to ask for one thing to do everything it supposed to do and not self-host some python nightmare?
Per radiator.
With as many times as I like (so the kitchen comes up to 19c during the week from 7-8 in the morning and from 6-8 in the evening).
Oh, and it turns off when the window opens, and back on when the window shuts. So my wife deciding she wants it cold doesn't cost us a fortune.
Smart thermostats rely on an app or scrolling through menus on the small screen.
If you want to be able to quickly and easily set your temp range and times on the thermostat itself, OPs design would achieve that.
I think there’s a market opportunity for many of these types of devices to implement Bluetooth networking to provide a web interface usable on a phone. This avoids the need for expensive screens, since we all already have one in our pockets.
The main motivation stopping this is the desire vendors have to capture the market and get everyone signed up to their own app, so they can try to lock you in.
The entire UI to learn: when cold move the lever right, when hot, left.
Problem is with the proposed thermostat here is thst it’s covering a single type of schedule. These products need to be able to cater for all sorts of variations.
At least with mine when you configure in the app on your phone it is very clear what you’re choosing.
The misconception is that such scheduled configurations need to be changed frequently, in 99% of the cases a proper thermostat should be configured once and barely touched again after that.
People who react on the impulse "I want it warmer right now" -> "uh, now it's too warm" and keep changing the settings are just wasting energy...
I think every smart thermostat is too focused on a temperature value (I know it's counter-intuitive):
- Humans don't experience temperature, only change in temperature
- Rate of temperature change depends on many factors, and delta between body and air temperature is just one of them
While I like 72 F, I'd rather have 73 or even 74 with A/C running less per hour. I often have to wear a jacket at home while A/C is working because while it's running it feels much colder than it is[1].
[1]: yeah yeah, air blowing out of A/C vents is colder than ambient, that's kinda the point.
