thermostat

House feels too cold, but you can’t justify turning on the thermostat? Before you reach for some warm socks and a sweater, try out this idea first!

Nov 4, 2024

Design, Household

HVAC, temperature, thermostat, wind chill

The Issue: Sometimes, it feels cold in a house, but when you go to check the thermostat, you see that it’s already something like 72° F (22° C). That’s already plenty warm, so you’d feel guilty about turning on the heat! As a result, you must shamefully put on a sweater instead. But what if you COULD…
Your home’s thermostat is too easy to use: add the requirement of adding “fire logs” to it in order to keep your house warm!

Dec 4, 2023

Design, Household

thermostat, toothpick

Background: Modern technology is often extremely convenient. For example, in a house with some type of central heating, you can heat the entire house by just pushing a couple of buttons on a thermostat (Fig. 1). The Issue: However, this system might just be too easy and convenient: there’s no sense of accomplishment in pressing…