That time my smart thermostat decided I was on vacation in my own home

I stopped fiddling with the thermostat every night and let the smart schedule take over. One evening, it assumed I was out because I stayed still during a long Netflix binge. The temperature dropped way down while I was sleeping. I woke up shivering, and my breath was fogging up in the cold air. My dog was burrowed under all the blankets, looking at me like I messed up. Now I check the motion sensor placement before I go to bed. It's a silly lesson in not fully trusting automation, lol.

4 comments

4 Comments

alice_king6613h ago

Your Netflix binge tricked the sensor, not the system.

margaretpark10h ago

So what's the difference, @alice_king66, is the system just the sensor with a fancier name?

maxl938h ago

Honestly, Alice nailed it with that point. My room's temperature sensor got fooled when I left a heater on near it, but the whole home system checked my phone was miles away and didn't adjust the schedule. Tbh, it's wild how the system uses more than one clue to figure things out. That sensor alone would have wasted so much energy.

parkerbailey5h ago

Wow, that's so true about systems using more than one clue. My smart lock once didn't auto-lock when I was home (I was supposed to be out but called in sick) because it saw my phone was inside. It even checked my calendar and saw I cleared the day, so it skipped the usual schedule. Stuff like that makes me feel like the tech is actually paying attention, you know?