It started to learn my indoor climate habits and expectations after just a few days of manual programming
My friends and coworkers made fun of me for years for being stuck in my ways and behind the times. I begrudgingly learned how to use computers in the early 2000s when my employer adopted them company-wide. In fact, I didn’t have one at home for another 10 years after fact, long into the time in which smartphones were becoming a standard across the developed world. I don’t know if it was stubbornness or just a feeling of reluctancy built into my mind from generations of people who had no choice but to make the most of the few things they had in their possession. The first smartphone I used was issued to me from work, but it took no longer than a few days at most for me to get hooked in by the technology and all of the features offered. I used to get lost on country roads a lot, especially at night when I can’t see the road signs as well. But with a smartphone, I could open a navigation app and immediately see where I am on an interactive map. When I learned that I could get a thermostat for my central HVAC system that would interact with my smartphone, part of me was excited but the older part of my brain was hesitant that perhaps the technology was a mere gimmick. But after the man at the hardware store explained to me what sort of features that come with a smart thermostat that you don’t get with digital or dial thermostats, I was hooked. It started to learn my indoor climate habits and expectations after just a few days of manual programming. Once it sets up a custom algorithm to match your own preferences, using the thermostat is like a pleasant dream.