4 ms·

> not be able to easily set the heating until they've moved in ... the epitome of "first-world problems" Staying warm is a first-world problem? How out of touc

> not be able to easily set the heating until they've moved in ... the epitome of "first-world problems" Staying warm is a first-world problem? How out of touch can the author be? That's a basic need.

libria 9y ago
Meh, the furnace is perfectly operational and you could hold a screwdriver across two terminals to force it on. Not convenient, but not dire need.
btgeekboy 9y ago
One would think that a new homeowner, if actually locked out of the thermostat somehow, could go to their local hardware store and pick up a cheap $30 thermostat to control the furnace.
- cbr 9y ago
  Or just remove the thermostat from the wall, and turn the heating on by shorting the signal wires together.
  - btgeekboy 9y ago
    Yes, or that. Point is, the only thing that’s locked/secured is easily removed and replaced by a dumb, easily acquired device. Nobody that has accepted the responsibility of home ownership will be denied access to heat due to a smart home thermostat that they don’t have full access to.
    - andrewem 9y ago
      After I bought a house, I couldn't turn off the dining room chandelier lights for three days while I figured out the box they'd stashed in a cabinet had a radio transmitter that talked to the light. A while later I paid an electrician to run some wire through the ceiling and a wall, and install an outlet with a switch. There was also an outlet in another room with some complex controls. It stopped working after a while. Turned out the switch - which is connected to a freaking electrical wire - required a battery to work. I had that taken out too, and good riddance to all of it.
ajford 9y ago
The first-world problem is not the "staying warm" issue, but the fact that the fancy 'IOT' thermostat requires an internet connection to set. In "third-world" areas, and even in many modern "first-world" areas, a heater can be manually turned on with a simple switch, regardless of thermostat settings, and just as easily turned off. The lack of these controls on a significantly more expensive thermostat is where the first-world problem creeps in.

libria 9y ago

Meh, the furnace is perfectly operational and you could hold a screwdriver across two terminals to force it on. Not convenient, but not dire need.

btgeekboy 9y ago

One would think that a new homeowner, if actually locked out of the thermostat somehow, could go to their local hardware store and pick up a cheap $30 thermostat to control the furnace.

cbr 9y ago
Or just remove the thermostat from the wall, and turn the heating on by shorting the signal wires together.
- btgeekboy 9y ago
  Yes, or that. Point is, the only thing that’s locked/secured is easily removed and replaced by a dumb, easily acquired device. Nobody that has accepted the responsibility of home ownership will be denied access to heat due to a smart home thermostat that they don’t have full access to.
  - andrewem 9y ago
    After I bought a house, I couldn't turn off the dining room chandelier lights for three days while I figured out the box they'd stashed in a cabinet had a radio transmitter that talked to the light. A while later I paid an electrician to run some wire through the ceiling and a wall, and install an outlet with a switch. There was also an outlet in another room with some complex controls. It stopped working after a while. Turned out the switch - which is connected to a freaking electrical wire - required a battery to work. I had that taken out too, and good riddance to all of it.

ajford 9y ago

The first-world problem is not the "staying warm" issue, but the fact that the fancy 'IOT' thermostat requires an internet connection to set. In "third-world" areas, and even in many modern "first-world" areas, a heater can be manually turned on with a simple switch, regardless of thermostat settings, and just as easily turned off. The lack of these controls on a significantly more expensive thermostat is where the first-world problem creeps in.