What would you rather have...?

In my position I am asked by many OEM and aftermarket manufacturers for input on new stuff: from tools to equipment. Recently I have been approached by two manufacturers about potential new products for the homeowner.

We all know, or should know, that programmable thermostats save us energy, and money, by  effectively turning the temperature up or down while we are out of the house; thus not running the A/C while we are at work when no one is home. The problem with programmable stats is that very few people understand them and even fewer know how to program them so they can see the energy savings. A few companies, Honeywell and Emerson most notably, have made programmable thermostats that are much easier to program; as one representative told me,"So easy my wife can do it!" And he was correct, it is very easy to program, no disrespect to the wives out there!

My problem is that these manufacturers are usually a step behind the times when it comes to technology. Everything we have now is wireless, smartphones, iPad, iPod, laptops, netbooks, internet and on and on...Why are we slaved to the wall when it comes to our thermostats, it's stupid.

I want to be able to see my settings from the office, or the couch (where I am watching Firefly over my wireless internet) or from my home office without needing to get up and walk over to the wall. Additionally, with programmable stats, they have pre-programmed set back times. IOW if you usually come home @ 5:00 it will have the house comfortable for you when you get home. But what if you need to work late, say 'till 7:00? Well, the stat will STILL come on at 5:00 and cool the house for a full two hours needlessly, wasting money, and energy.

Currently there is only one stat that has the ability to go from the box, to the wall and be fully controllable from a web browser, the EcoBee. And it is a good stat, if not a little buggy, but well on its way to being a very good platform. No other parts are needed, no internet cable, no modems, no special programming, just plug and play. Not bad really.

So my question to y'all is this. If you had a thermostat that was web browser accessible would you use it?  IOW you go to a website like mythermostat.com, enter a username and password, then you can see your programming schedule, set points and current temperatures. Assuming all this would be user friendly and you would not need to know some secret code language to do it.

AND, if you would use it, what features would you like to have? Basic stuff like scheduling, set points and current conditions ONLY or advanced features like air temperatures, run times, a full history, approximate energy usage, outdoor temperature and humidity: you know, pretty much every thing! Really I am asking if you just want a basic amount of information or ALL the information?

Based on my non-scientific questions I have asked so far to friends it will likely go something like this:
Men will want ALL the information, Women will want just the basic information with EASY to use features.

Based on this information I can make a recommendation to these manufacturers as to what I think people want, and will buy. And y'all can be part of the development of a new product!

Please leave your answers in the comment section either here, or on the Facebook wall, and thanks for participating.

HVAC to Hammocks, and everything inbetween!

I get Bloging. I read Blogs, I watch Blogs and I have a Blog, so I can honestly say I get it - sometimes. For the most part I read Blogs that are professionally related, but I also participate in some that are recreational as well. I hafta admit tho that I DO NOT get the Blogs that are blow-by-blow sentences of a persons life; some do, I don't, different strokes I guess.

Rest easy if you like reading Blogs the way I do, because I generally write the way I read. You will not have a second-by-second account of my life; but more of a long rambling something-or-other that strikes my fancy.

HVAC to Hammocks, and everything inbetween, pretty much encompasses my life. HVAC is what I do for a living (Service Manager for an Austin, based HVAC Contractor), Hammocking is how I live (Hammock Camping really, but it's so much more than that!).

Along the way I hope to entertain, educate, offend, piss-off, bore or excite y'all!

So welcome to the official start of my Facebook Blog. I hate long introductions so I will stop it there, until tomorrow...

Just getting the Blog set -up - Nothing to see here...

Like I said, nothing to see here...