And now for something completely different and totally unrelated to bicycles.
We/I just installed a new Honeywell thermostat in our home, a wifi enabled one at that. Yes, yes it is the Googled, “Alexa turn up the heat” model for those of you Alexa people, which we are not, but quite the step up nonetheless. And it was easy to be a step up for a couple of reasons. First, even though the old model was programmable, it was like DOS/Basic programmable from the 80’s. Push the tan button 3 times in rapid succession, pause, then push it again while holding the other tan button and doing a quick dosey doe and an alamand left. Second, when it was hot at night and cold all day, I was never sure if it was broken or if I don’t remember how to square dance (see first reason)
The new model has a color touch screen, worked right out of the box, had guided setup for 24/7 schedule. It’s also, as I mentioned above, wifi enabled which means a few things. It means that I can see not only indoor temps and humidity, but also and outdoor temps and humidity courtesy of some nearby weather station. It also means that there is an iPhone app that allows me to control every feature from my phone no matter where I am, as long as I have a cell signal and I keep paying Xfinity to keep my internet up. It also means that I can lower the heat from work if I realize that nobody will be home or raise it up for no reason at all. And one more feature that really applies to people like us who live in split level homes, the ability to have the whole house fan circulate the air to even out the upstairs/downstairs temp without pumping more heat into the house. This feature will also bring the cool air up from the basement during the summer to keep our house more livable without installing AC.
Yeah, it has nothing to do with bikes, but it is real, which is what I promised in my blog.
PS, the actual install and wiring went well also. Assuming that your current thermostat is wired correctly it will be a breeze. Mine needed an update to the wiring to bring voltage up from furnace, but still an average person could easily tackle the whole installation. Mine worked out fine, taking only about 1-1/2 hours even after a couple of Coconut Kenny ambers. Again, as promised, real.
