Programmable Thermostats

[woodbuck27]

Where I live we have lots of trees. I only run AC a couple days a year...

How many trees then, do you have to move indoors?

[woodbuck27]

Roark, it doesn't get inefficient as the temperature goes lower, it actually gets more efficient. Heat loss will decrease as temperature inside your house approaches the temperature outside.

Patler's got it right in the first paragraph. You want to prevent your furnace from turning on during the day. The trick is to find the time to have the furnace turn back on so that the house reaches an acceptable temp when you get back.

The other factors Patler mentioned need to be considered, and I'll add that the type of plants you have in the house do as well. If you've got some tropicals, you don't want the temperature dipping much below 12-15C.

I'll also bring up curtains - if your windows aren't great, thermal backed curtains make a big difference.

And yes, AC is a totally different matter, mostly due to the amount of work central AC does removing the humidity from the house. It's better to 'set it and leave it.'

You and I might be in the same field Guiness.

I'm an Engineering Technologist in Industrial Instrumentation and Control Technology and also in a practical sense an Electrical Technician. I have a BEd in Technology Education and Vocational Training.

Ohh ! Just for those not familiar with the conversions of Celcius Degrees to Farenheit Dgrees and vice versa


Celcius Degrees to Farenheit Degrees:

Celcius Degrees X 9/5 (Plus 32 Degees) = Farenheit degrees

Farenheit Degrees to Celcius degrees:

F Degrees (minus 32 degrees) X 5/9 = Degrees C

[MJZiggy]

You and I might be in the same field Guiness.

I'm an Engineering Technologist in Industrial Instrumentation and Control Technology and also in a practical sense an Electrical Technician. I have a BEd in Technology Education and Vocational Training.

Ohh ! Just for those not familiar with the conversions of Celcius Degrees to Farenheit Dgrees and vice versa


Celcius Degrees to Farenheit Degrees:

Celcius Degrees X 9/5 (Plus 32 Degees) = Farenheit degrees

Farenheit Degrees to Celcius degrees:

F Degrees (minus 32 degrees) X 5/9 = Degrees C

You can just type it into the calculator on the internet and it will tell you. Congrats. You are now obsolete.

[mraynrand]

You can just type it into the calculator on the internet and it will tell you. Congrats. You are now obsolete.

I bet he can calculate it faster than you can enter it into your computer.

[hoosier]

Woodbuck can calculate in one day what it would take a hundred men a week.

[mraynrand]

Woodbuck can calculate in one day what it would take a hundred men a week.

He'll enter that manually

[woodbuck27]

He'll enter that manually

hahahaw

[woodbuck27]

You can just type it into the calculator on the internet and it will tell you. Congrats. You are now obsolete.

Calculator?? I'm not Ole woodbuck27 for nothing MJ.

[woodbuck27]

There's a regulator you can get that prevents this overheating. It's a bit pricey, but well worth it. We let the place go down to 60 during the day and overnight. Takes an hour, hour 1/2 to heat back up, but we have a lot of rooms with high ceilings so more volume - and it's a 1923 house..... Any lower than 60 and it takes too long to heat.

One thing for sure. Your not forced into the spare bedroom.

[wootah]

iPod lead designer Tony Fadell launches "Learning Thermostat".

Tony Fadell led the team that designed the iPod at Apple, and contributed to the start of the iPhone project. He's often described as the 'father' of the iPod. But when the former Apple executive's new 'stealth' start-up finally unveiled the product it was working on, it raised a few eyebrows.



But once the clatter of jaws hitting the floor died down, it's clear that Fadell's thermostat is rather different from the unresponsive beige units in most homes. NestLabs, his Silicon Valley start-up, aims to bring a bit of iPod-esque cool to electricity management in the home - and to save home-owners a large amount of money.

The Nest Learning Thermostat aims to overcome the glaring defect of programmable thermostats - the fact that 89 per cent of people don't bother to program them. Tony Fadell's new start-up Nest Labs has created a thermostat that 'learns' your schedule without being programmed. Built-in sensors also alert you if you leave the home
'It was unacceptable to me that the device that controls 10 per cent of all energy consumed in the U.S. hadn't kept up with advancements in technology and design,' said Fadell.
'I set out to reinvent the thermostat using the thoughtful design elements the iPhone generation has come to expect.'

Nest programs itself based on the temperatures you set it to during the week - its machine-learning algorithms work out a 'schedule' for you, and it sets itself accordingly, turning down heating or air-con to save energy. Nest doesn't 'learn' once then switch off, either - it keeps 'learning'. It also uses sensors to detect when you've left the house, and automatically turns down the heat while you're out.

The device can be programmed via any smartphone, tablet or PC via wi-fi - and automatically 'guides' you to more energy-efficient settings.

The device is due out in America priced at $249 in November. There is no confirmed release date for other territories.

link

[MJZiggy]

I wonder if it can tell the difference between the work week and weekend. In other words, NOT turn down if I am here unexpectedly.

[Upnorth]

There's a regulator you can get that prevents this overheating. It's a bit pricey, but well worth it. We let the place go down to 60 during the day and overnight. Takes an hour, hour 1/2 to heat back up, but we have a lot of rooms with high ceilings so more volume - and it's a 1923 house..... Any lower than 60 and it takes too long to heat.

Sounds alot like our 1917 home. 10' ceilings on main, 9' on second and sloped up to 14' on the third floor. Does the regulator strap on the pipes to cut out the furnance? We have that already, but when the water gets to 160 - 170 it takes a long time to cool down. There is a alot of water in the system as it is original furnace, and I have no desire to up grade as it only costs about 90 ish per month to heat versus 10 grand for an efficent boiler big enough for our house.
So what does the regulator do and where does it go?

[Scott Campbell]

I'm an Engineering Technologist in Industrial Instrumentation and Control Technology and also in a practical sense an Electrical Technician. I have a BEd in Technology Education and Vocational Training.

Hopefully you learned all that stuff in less time than it took you to learn the "ignore" feature.

[Partial]

Next gen thermostat.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/25/ipod-fathers-unveil-their-next-project-the-nest-learning-thermo/

[mraynrand]

I need one of these for my wife



waitasecond....Is there a similarity there? Ooooo...I think there is...