I have to say, I’m not overly impressed with the modern, smart technology that shows up in all our appliances and systems. Self-driving cars aren’t exactly proving to prevent accidents. Smartphones have have made the world population overly reliant on handheld devices. Smart thermostats might be the worst devices of all. I know that there is a lot evidence that smart homes save time and money. People are eager to connect their doorbell, security cameras, lights, sound system, furnace, air conditioner, washer, dryer, sump pump, refrigerator, and every appliance to a single control. I think this just makes the operation of our devices more difficult. For instance, my smart thermostat is impossible to program. For 6 months, I have been attempting to arrange a personalized temperature program through the onboard smart programming algorithm. The thermostat is linked to my cell phone. I should have access from anywhere I happen to be. The thermostat should be able to detect my location and adjust the temperature appropriately. I have not been impressed with any of the functions so far. It seems like any variance in my family’s schedules causes a mess with the smart thermostat. We just can’t seem to achieve a reasonable temperature at any given time. When the house is empty, it’s sometimes perfectly comfortable. When we’re at home, the house is most often overheated or freezing cold. The weather has very little to do with it. I know I’m wasting energy. The energy tracking feature works pretty good. I can also see from my monthly energy bills that the furnace and air conditioner are working much harder.
