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I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

jorgecastro.org

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Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#31

Post by cfinke »

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…

If you're changing your sprinkler configuration, you're doing it wrong.

Or your lawn is dying because there hasn't been enough rain. Or your lawn is dying because there's been too much rain. Or you're resodding a part of your lawn. Or you're removing part of your lawn to put in a garden. Or you've started using rainbarrels to naturally irrigate your backyard. Or your city has changed which days you can water your lawn on.

you can be pretty sure that the reason the internal clock is wrong is because the author tried to tweak things.

It could also be because the power went out or because of Daylight Saving Time.

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#32

Post by mgraczyk »

smcguinness wrote: post #26
mgraczyk wrote: post #19

We're working on it. https://github.com/makilian/Mist

Any more info you can share? I'm very interested in something like this.

Yes. I few friends and I have been working on this for a few months as a school project. We're done with school now, but we may still continue the project. So far we have been more focused on the mathematics and the software and less focused on the product because the project was for school.

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#33

Post by crymer11 »

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.

I think your pricing is a little off; my parents have had a Rinnai heater now for more than several years with no reliability issues and spent far less than $2800. Even Amazon has them priced much lower [1].

1 - http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rinnai+water+h...

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#34

Post by gregable »

secabeen wrote: post #18
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.

Well, it's an interesting question. Is there a market for a $300 sprinkler controller? Rain Bird doesn't think so. I paid about $50 for my controller, and it's relatively easy to use, certainly better than the OPs: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003LY4I14/ref=wms_ohs_prod... Also, the OP is eliding over the fact that that controller is probably 10 years old.

It may be 10 years old, but it's still what's being sold: http://www.amazon.com/Rain-Bird-ESP-4M-4-Station-Controller/...

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#35

Post by gregable »

atdepth wrote: post #20

Myself and a friend looked in to doing this for sprinkler timers. The aim was to simplify the interface to a large degree and allow for configuration via a browser or mobile device. As it turns out there is a patent on sprinkler timers with embedded web servers. The owner of the patent has posted hostile messages threatening legal action on any public facing website that posts about the handful of consumer products t…

This makes me sad.

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#36

Post by jmomo »

I have an Ecobee thermostat in my condo, which I am currently in the process of selling. Young people are usually pretty excited about seeing it in action, but older people are actually turned off. My guess is they see it as another complicated VCR that they can't program, and so, it's actually a negative.

Even the Nest, with it's simple dial would probably scare them, because smart things scare stupid people.

When I tell them that it's an Internet enabled thermostat, they must immediately think, "OMG CHINA HAXORS GUNNA STEAL MY THERMOSTAT MHZ" because that's what the scare-monger media has been telling them over the last six months.

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#37

Post by msutherl »

rentzsch wrote: post #30

This is where Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) with web tech (ideally) and/or Apps (practically) could shine: the sprinkler system could vend a much better software UI to our smartphones than the hardware UI it's currently offering.

I can't stand UI controllers for physical stuff:

1. When you want to change some parameter of the physical thing, you have to know where your phone is. You can't just go there.

2. You need to take your phone out of your pocket, navigate to the icon, press it, wait, probably tap a button or two, then slide your fingers along a smooth surface in some sort of complex pattern. Meanwhile, you could have walked downstairs and turned a dial, which you can actually feel with your fingers and you don't need to look at.

Nest makes big awesome dials. I too wish more startups with good designers would find some way to displace common hardware controls that are unfamiliar and complex.

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#38

Post by msutherl »

jmomo wrote: post #36

I have an Ecobee thermostat in my condo, which I am currently in the process of selling. Young people are usually pretty excited about seeing it in action, but older people are actually turned off. My guess is they see it as another complicated VCR that they can't program, and so, it's actually a negative. Even the Nest, with it's simple dial would probably scare them, because smart things scare stupid people. When I…

That thing looks like a nightmare. I don't blame them.

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#39

Post by iramiller »

An irrigation system is far more complicated than a thermostat however there are already strong contenders in this space. I use a Cyber-Rain[1] controller which adjusts based on humidity, temperature and forecast along with details provided during setup such as sprinkler types, soil types, grade and more. When your system has a flow sensor the controller will even shut down the system in the event of a broken head and send an email instead of letting hundreds of gallons of water run down the street.

[1]http://cyber-rain.com

Re: I Wish Nest Did More Than Thermostats

#40

Post by corresation »

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 difference. That would be a stark difference with a hot water tank.

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