Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

jorgecastro.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 55 posts

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#41

Post by plorkyeran »

briancurtin wrote: post #22
spingu wrote: post #11

Agreed. But specifically for lawns, I actually wish someone makes much cheaper artificial turfs. Good for aesthetics, better for the environment.. saves hassle time money and water.

This can't be all that far away. At the size of a baseball field, I'm told it's a no-brainer to go turf at this point. I don't actually know the prices, I'm trusting the college coaches who have mentioned this to me over the last several years (I umpire on the side). One has been on artificial turf for three years, another put turf in this year, and the rest want them.

The usage patterns of a baseball field and a lawn at one's house are generally not going to be very similar, so it doesn't necessarily follow that what's cheaper for one is cheaper for the other. (I have no idea how the prices actually compare.)

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#44

Post by dfc »

corresation wrote: post #40
dfc wrote: post #5

Nest folks, once you are happy with your thermostat product please pivot to water heaters. There is no reason why I heat the water in the tank up throughout the night. I think that my household demand for hot water is fairly predictable with spikes in the morning for showering and in the evening for dishes and laundry.

There is no reason why I heat the water in the tank up throughout the night Aside from the fact that you need the water to remain above a certain level or the water can become dangerous (e.g. legionella), what happens the night you play glow in the dark flag football and decide to take a shower? Or do a load of dishes? Etc. The Nest "works" (in the absolutely marginal way that it does so) because it makes a middling…

What happens the night i stay up late with the nest and want the heat turned up?

My dishwasher contains a heating element and so does the clothes washer.

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#45

Post by cbhl »

dapak wrote: post #6

"For bonus points it would also check Google Maps and compare how green my lawn is to my neighbors" How's that going to work when the imagery isn't real time?

Alternatively, it could check what neighbours' sprinkler systems are set to, and recommend the median or mean (or maybe just the max of immediately adjacent neighbours).

He's just making a wishlist of features; the particular method of implementation doesn't have to match.

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#46

Post by rhizome »

mikegreen wrote: post #15
shawnz wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you thought about switching to a tankless hot water system?

So I can spend $2800 on a water heater that has questionable reliability, requires a bigger gas line, and will save me 40% off my $18 a month water heating bill? Yes. I've thought of it, but no, it is not a good idea.

This looks like a good resource on the topic:

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/waterheaters.html

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#47

Post by sbuk »

notatoad wrote: post #23
igul222 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that poking around under the hood shouldn't be necessary. If the sprinkler system worked well enough without ever needing to open the hood, then everything's fine. But it looks like that's not the case.

Not only is it unnecessary to poke around under the hood, it's bad. If you're changing your sprinkler configuration, you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to set the schedule and never touch it again. Changing the schedule (because of rain or weather) is not as good for your lawn as just leaving everything alone. The only control you should ever be touching is the master shutoff valve. Your sprinkler isn't supposed…

And all of that doesn't forgive bad UI. As the end user, the chap that installed the system shouldn't have to put up with a bad UI. There is absolutely no excuse for a poorly designed interface. None.

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#48

Post by iooi »

notatoad wrote: post #23
igul222 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that poking around under the hood shouldn't be necessary. If the sprinkler system worked well enough without ever needing to open the hood, then everything's fine. But it looks like that's not the case.

Not only is it unnecessary to poke around under the hood, it's bad. If you're changing your sprinkler configuration, you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to set the schedule and never touch it again. Changing the schedule (because of rain or weather) is not as good for your lawn as just leaving everything alone. The only control you should ever be touching is the master shutoff valve. Your sprinkler isn't supposed…

What? You are speaking as if all seasons are the same year after year. Last winter here in the valley during winter the rain started months after it was supposed to and it was spotty at best.

I would argue the opposite, that the more you tinker with your system you will get better and better results. Daily rainfall does matter in lawn care because during hot summer days like this, you do need more water than during cool, cloudy winter days. This is common sense to anyone with half a green thumb. Not to mention, during the rainy season, you will probably do damage to your lawn if you over water.

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#49

Post by throwaway2048 »

dfc wrote: post #27
chad_oliver wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In general, there's a good reason for heating the water overnight: electricity is often cheaper at night, and (on a national level) it means that electricity demand is spread more evenly over the whole 24 hours.

Electricity is cheaper at night (from some utilities) because the demand is a lot lower at night. But why is it a good idea to heat water at night when I'm not going to use it? And as others have pointed out I have a natural gas heater.

also residential customers usually do not have hourly rates, rather fixed per kWh monthly ones.

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#50

Post by huhtenberg »

dfc wrote: post #5

Nest folks, once you are happy with your thermostat product please pivot to water heaters. There is no reason why I heat the water in the tank up throughout the night. I think that my household demand for hot water is fairly predictable with spikes in the morning for showering and in the evening for dishes and laundry.

Virtually everyone modern home has thermostats, but far fewer households have dumb water boilers.
Post reply on HN