My Dream Thermostat

https://leontrolski.github.io/thermostat.html

by leontrolski • 2 years ago

27 26 2 years ago

leontrolski.github.io

JasonBorne• 2 years ago

Are you my old roommate who needed to change the room temperature every 30 minutes?

Mindavi• 2 years ago

It seems to me that using home assistant to implement this is fairly feasible.

kylebenzle• 2 years ago

Agree, were are already there. I have both google and alexa and both work flawlessly to do what op is requesting.

kodt3• 2 years ago

We have had programmable thermostats that could achieve what OP wants since the 90s at least. They were just a hassle (relatively) to program.

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.

sss111• 2 years ago

Nest has all of this and more. You can set a schedule for every day/hour.

kodt3• 2 years ago

Perhaps the dream is the straightforward interface and not having to use an app/ or menu buttons on the actual thermostat.

bbrks• 2 years ago

Likewise for Tado's offerings. I think every "smart" thermostat has this capability right?

vundercind• 2 years ago

I take the post as requesting the UI, not the features.

0x4572• 2 years ago

Nest has some of it. It doesn't have "make it colder/warmer for 2 hours". It's self-learning features are weird in my opinion.

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.

jeffbee• 2 years ago

Isn't this a $20 Honeywell-level set of features? Mine definitely does all of the things implied by the mock.

kodt3• 2 years ago

Yes, very basic thermostats can do this. But the interface shown here is far superior, which I think is the point.

rickdeckard2• 2 years ago

it's also much less flexible than existing i.e. Junkers setups in Europe, if my workdays are Wed-Sun instead of Mon-Fri the UX is already broken.

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...

gniting• 2 years ago

I achieve the same (and more) on my control4 system through programming.

0x4572• 2 years ago

It seems to me that using home assistant to implement this is fairly feasible.

Is this too much to ask for one thing to do everything it supposed to do and not self-host some python nightmare?

rickdeckard2• 2 years ago

Nearly all of this is provided by my (fairly standard European) Thermostat from Junkers, where you can define a "warm" and "cold" temperature-setting, and then set timeframes to switch between those settings for each weekday (individual or ranges like Mon-Fri).

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

bwanab• 2 years ago

Part of the problem here is that not everyone has the same weekend arrangement. To work with that you need flexibility which causes UI complexity.

flanbiscuit• 2 years ago

I get where they are coming from, a simple interface like that would nice. It's annoying having to dig through menus to set a schedule when most people set the same exact schedule: a daytime temp and a night time temp, with slightly varied times on the weekend. I know I do. If you need more finer grained control, then this is not for you.

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.

josefritzishere• 2 years ago

If you have a Honeywell T6 it has a UWP16 base which is standardized for the whole T-series. You can swap it with a T10 without touching the wiring. It will just snap on. Then you get more programming options and a color UI.

bestouff• 2 years ago

I would like less programming options and an intuitive UI.

orev• 2 years ago

The biggest limitation for thermostats is the user interface. Most require digging through cryptic options, or they’re very expensive with a nice screen interface.

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.

pulvinar• 2 years ago

Yeah, I just replaced my thermostat and after looking at all of those fancy models and thinking about how I don't follow a schedule myself. So I bought another analog one.

The entire UI to learn: when cold move the lever right, when hot, left.

sammyo• 2 years ago

Just want to turn it on a half hour from arriving home.

AndrewDucker• 2 years ago

My Hive thermostat does exactly that.

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.

nunez• 2 years ago

Ecobee does this well imo

asdz• 2 years ago

You can automate that with HomeAssistant + Broadlink IR remote

RASBR89• 2 years ago

I have a Honeywell thermostat with companion app. It’s trivial to configure compared to traditional thermostats, even the UI on the device itself is pretty simple.

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.

My Dream Thermostat

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