1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from half 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,239 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer and 4 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 1: I love all things tech, including reruns about technology. Yep, 5 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:26,240 Speaker 1: it's Friday. It's time for a classic episode. This episode 6 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: of tech Stuff originally published on November two thousand and eleven. 7 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:33,880 Speaker 1: I was such a young, fresh faced talent back then. 8 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,440 Speaker 1: Chris Pillette and I decided we were going to crank 9 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,680 Speaker 1: up the heat and talk about thermostat technology. So now 10 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: we present to you tech Stuff, Adjust the thermostat. We're 11 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: going to take the temperature today in our podcast. Yeah, 12 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:50,880 Speaker 1: we're gonna talk about the thermostat. Now, we've already talked 13 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: about air conditioning we have on the show, so but 14 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: we didn't didn't cover thermostats at all when we talked 15 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: about air conditioning, not really. And the thermost that, of course, 16 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,759 Speaker 1: is that handy dandy little device that helps you maintain 17 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: the right temperature. Because you know, there are air conditioner 18 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: and heater or units out there that don't use thermostats. 19 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: You manually have to turn it on or turn it off. 20 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: So when you're like thinking galy g the house shore 21 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 1: is cold. Now I don't need that air conditioner on anymore. 22 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: You can go and switch it off. But most of 23 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: them tend to have some sort of thermostat in there 24 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 1: which helps maintain a comfortable temperature. You set the temperature 25 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: you want, it starts whatever the process is that needs 26 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: to get to that temperature, whether that's cooling the air 27 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: down or heating it up, and then once it reaches 28 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: that temperature, ideally it shuts off so that you don't 29 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: continue on the pathway to reach the other side of uncomfortable. 30 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:52,559 Speaker 1: Well yeah, and uh it's also I think the second 31 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: largest lead leading cause of divorce. I wanted their degrees colder. 32 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 1: Are you done? Okay? Yeah? No. Uh. Thermostats are not 33 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: not exclusive to houses, of course, or or buildings or 34 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: or keeping people comfortable. They're also in many other devices 35 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: for keeping those devices comfortable, like say a car for instance, 36 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: um anything that that where you need to measure temperature 37 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: and switch on a cooling or a heating um in 38 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: your In your car, it might turn on the cooling 39 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 1: fan when it senses the engine might be nearing overheating um. 40 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: And if you look at a house thermostat. And you 41 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 1: see one of those digital, high tech programmable models on 42 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: the wall, you might get the idea that they are 43 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 1: super duper sophisticated. But thermostats don't have to be that sophisticated, 44 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: and in fact actually use physics to um determine or 45 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: you know, just set off the switch inside that makes 46 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 1: things hotter or cooler. Yeah, it's actually pretty cool in 47 00:02:57,280 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: a way. You know, I don't mean that in a 48 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 1: temperature way, but I see what you did there. These 49 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: things are hot. Uh. Now, they, like Chris was saying, yeah, 50 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 1: uses physics. If you're looking at Let's say, let's talk 51 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,639 Speaker 1: about one of the old thermostats. Okay, So so it's 52 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: like that little beige box that's sitting on the wall, 53 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 1: and it's got a little up got a dial, yeah, 54 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: either a dial or a lever, and it has a 55 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: little physical read out that you look at, and it's 56 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: got a little red needle in that that read out, 57 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:30,080 Speaker 1: and by turning the dial or moving the lever to 58 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: the left or to the right, you move the needle 59 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: up and down this temperature range to set it to 60 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: whatever you want. So let's say we're gonna say that 61 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 1: the temperature inside the house right now is a is 62 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: a chilly sixty five because because we're in the dead 63 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: of winter in Georgia and so so we want to 64 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: we want to boost that up to about seventy two. 65 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 1: Let's say we want we wanted to be a little warmer, 66 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: maybe a little warmer than we normally would, because it's 67 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: kind of chilly, and we want to I want to 68 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: have a nice little day and side, so we moved 69 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: the the lever so that it moves up to seventy 70 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: two and then magically the heater comes on until it 71 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: hits around seventy two degrees and then shuts off. But 72 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: what's going on inside, well, inside the thermostat is at 73 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: the very heart of it is a mercury switch. Mercury. Yeah, 74 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: don't drink it, no, No, mercury is pretty cool stuff. 75 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 1: It's uh, you know, it's a it's a metal which 76 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,360 Speaker 1: at room temperature is liquid. Yea. As a matter of fact, 77 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: my family, for some reason, when they broke an old 78 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: mercury thermometer, decided to keep the mercury in a baby 79 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: food jar, which oddly enough, we still have. Of course, 80 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: it's sealed up, you know, touch mercury is highly toxic. Yes, yes, 81 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: you do not want to have any contact with mercury. 82 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,720 Speaker 1: But um mad as a header. But sealing it up 83 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: inside a jar, you know, I got to see, you know, 84 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: move it, and it's it's really neat to watch it 85 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: break apart into little metal falls and then reform. Yeah, 86 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 1: it's like, yes, exactly, it's the one when the t 87 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: in the documentary Terminator Too would come apart. You know, 88 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:12,400 Speaker 1: you would see it kind of turn these liquid shapes 89 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:16,280 Speaker 1: and then reform. Well that's essentially, you know, that's mercury. 90 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:20,600 Speaker 1: That's what mercury does. Although mercury rarely will take essentience 91 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:24,479 Speaker 1: and then chase after Sarah Connor, that part, Yeah, that 92 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: part doesn't happen that frequently. Um. But but it is 93 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: a liquid metal. And uh, and here's the thing about it. 94 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,359 Speaker 1: Here's where we get into some physics. We're gonna you know, 95 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: we'll get into more in a little bit, but metals 96 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 1: um actually pretty much everything will tend to expand when 97 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 1: exposed to heat. Now, what's really happening is that you're 98 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:49,800 Speaker 1: adding energy into a system and the atoms in that 99 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:52,719 Speaker 1: system start to move around. And this is what in 100 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: effect causes expansion. And of course if you add enough 101 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:59,039 Speaker 1: heat to something, depending on what it is, not everything 102 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:01,760 Speaker 1: will well they urize, but a lot of stuff vaporizes 103 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: will turn into a gas form. Uh. That's really when 104 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: the atoms are have so much energy and they're moving 105 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:11,159 Speaker 1: around so much, they're no longer cohesive as a liquid um. 106 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: So mercury, it takes a lot of It takes way 107 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: more heat than it would then we would generate to 108 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: turn mercury into a gas. But all right, in its 109 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:22,680 Speaker 1: liquid form, what happens is you put it into an 110 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 1: enclosed space, you add heat, it's going to the liquid 111 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 1: inside that enclosed space is going to expand. The volume 112 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: increases as the temperature increases. So if you were to 113 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:39,559 Speaker 1: put mercury, say in a glass bulb, that one side 114 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:43,360 Speaker 1: is elongated into a tube, very thin tube. As the 115 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:49,360 Speaker 1: heat increases, the mercury would appear to climb that tube. 116 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:53,039 Speaker 1: It's because the mercury itself is expanding, the volumes increasing 117 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: as the temperature increases. And that's the basis of a thermometer. 118 00:06:57,080 --> 00:06:59,840 Speaker 1: The old mercury thermometers, you would have this class to 119 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: tube that was filled with mercury. You would have numbers 120 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,279 Speaker 1: that would correspond to whatever the temperature was, and then 121 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 1: as the temperature rises, you'd see the little level of 122 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: mercury increase inside that glass tube. You know, suddenly I 123 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: want to ride my bicycle. That's a different kind of mercury. 124 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: You want to ride your bike? Yes, that would be nice, 125 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: fat bottom girls, you make the rock and wood, alright, alright, 126 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: the same song does reference it anyway, that's true. That's true. 127 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:32,679 Speaker 1: So and a thermometer that you've got the mercury expanding 128 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: to tell you what temperature it is. Yes, but there's 129 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: a mercury switch, as you said, inside the thermostat right now. 130 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: In this case, the mercury switch is it's a little different. 131 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: It's not it's not acting as a thermometer. It's a 132 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: glass vial and it has three wires in it. There's 133 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: a wire that goes along the bottom of the glass vial, 134 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: which is in constant contact with the liquid mercury, and 135 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: then you have wires on the left and right side 136 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 1: of the vial that are just out of contact with 137 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: the mercury. But the vial itself can tilt to the 138 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 1: left or to the right, and when it does tilt, 139 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,920 Speaker 1: the mercury then comes in contact with the wire that's 140 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: on that particular side of the glass vial and then 141 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: completes a circuit between the bottom wire and the wire 142 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: that's on the respective side. So let's arguably say the 143 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: the vial tilts to the left, the mercury now is 144 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 1: in contact with both the wire along the bottom of 145 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: the vial and on the left side of the VISal, 146 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 1: and now you've got a circuit. So this gives us 147 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 1: some opportunities here if we create a system that will 148 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: tilt the vial one way or the other based upon 149 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,679 Speaker 1: certain parameters we haven't. We have a switch, and we 150 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: have a switch that can either be off or it 151 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:47,760 Speaker 1: can be on on two different directions, which is great 152 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:51,680 Speaker 1: for heating and cooling. Yes, so now we think, okay, well, 153 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 1: you've got the switch. Uh let's say that you you 154 00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 1: want to adjust the heat and you want to turn 155 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,200 Speaker 1: up the heat, and you you move that that uh, 156 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: that lever over that's going to tilt that glass vial. Right. 157 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:06,680 Speaker 1: The mercury is gonna move over to the correct side, 158 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 1: and that's going to initiate it's going to complete a 159 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:13,319 Speaker 1: circuit and then send electricity to the heater, which will 160 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 1: get the heater going and the fan will start to 161 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: turn and you'll start to have warm air pumped throughout 162 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,720 Speaker 1: the house or whatever it is that you're in. Right, Okay, 163 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: So how does the thermostat know when to stop? Well, 164 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:34,400 Speaker 1: more physics. Now, you know we've we've talked about how 165 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,080 Speaker 1: mercury is used in thermometers. And you might say, oh, 166 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: so it's sort of acting like a thermometer, right, because 167 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: it can tell if it's hot or cold. No, in 168 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 1: this case, mercury is just acting as a conductor. And 169 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 1: because it's it's useful because it's liquid in this case, 170 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,960 Speaker 1: and it will make it will flash into the and 171 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:58,840 Speaker 1: and touch the two contacts together in the appropriate case 172 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: get a little steamy. In this podcast, I think we 173 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:04,560 Speaker 1: need to take a quick break to thank our sponsor. 174 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: Using a thermometer called bimetallic thermometer, and based on its name, 175 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: you may be able to discern what's special about this 176 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: kind of thermometer. Yes, it's got to to two metals 177 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,640 Speaker 1: and one actually it's not in one. They're laminated together, yes, 178 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,320 Speaker 1: to make a strip. So so yeah, on on one 179 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:32,600 Speaker 1: side of the strip you have one metal and on 180 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:34,640 Speaker 1: the other side of the strip is another metal. They're 181 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: joined together. And here's why you want this. You see, 182 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 1: different metals will expand at different rates in in reaction 183 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:46,000 Speaker 1: to a change in temperature. So one metal, when you 184 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:50,080 Speaker 1: when you apply heat to it, might expand rather rapidly, 185 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:53,000 Speaker 1: while a second medal, in relation to the first one, 186 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 1: will go more slowly. And you put these two different 187 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 1: pieces of metal together, and as one expands an at 188 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:02,360 Speaker 1: a rate that's faster than the other, it's going to 189 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: change the shape of that sheet of metal. Now, in 190 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:11,560 Speaker 1: the case of these thermostats, these bimetallic thermometers tend to 191 00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 1: be arranged in a coil, and so you've got a 192 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: coil of this material where on the outer edge and 193 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:21,680 Speaker 1: the inner edge it's two different metals. The inner edge 194 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 1: is usually the one that expands faster um when when 195 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:29,400 Speaker 1: heat is applied. You've got it in this coiled shape. 196 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:33,719 Speaker 1: And uh, the way this works is that when it 197 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:38,079 Speaker 1: when the temperature rises, the the expansion on the inner 198 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:42,200 Speaker 1: layer of this coil will cause the coil to uncoil, 199 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:46,079 Speaker 1: start to unwind. When it unwinds enough, it actually presses 200 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 1: up against the mercury switch and puts it back into 201 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:54,320 Speaker 1: its central configuration. Okay, I don't need to be on anymore. 202 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,760 Speaker 1: I'll turn off exactly. The mercury no longer is in 203 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,600 Speaker 1: contact with both wires, because once it is set back 204 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:03,160 Speaker 1: to its central location, only the bottom wire is connected, 205 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:07,520 Speaker 1: the circuit is broken and the heater stops working. Uh. 206 00:12:07,559 --> 00:12:10,320 Speaker 1: And in general, usually there's a system in place where 207 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:15,640 Speaker 1: this will actually shut off before you reach that full temperature, 208 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:19,080 Speaker 1: because depending on where you are in the house, like 209 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:21,280 Speaker 1: you don't want the thermostat to be right next to 210 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,720 Speaker 1: the heating vent no, because it'll the temperature of the 211 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:27,840 Speaker 1: thermostat will change too quickly, right, so you would you 212 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: might be in a situation where if the hot air 213 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,000 Speaker 1: were right next to the thermostat, the thermostatic goes, oh, okay, 214 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 1: it's already seventy two degrees. Meanwhile you're in the living 215 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:38,320 Speaker 1: room going why is it so cold in here? Right? 216 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 1: So you want the thermostat to be someplace where it 217 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:43,559 Speaker 1: will be exposed to the flow of air, but won't 218 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:47,640 Speaker 1: be right there at e vent So the thinking here 219 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:50,679 Speaker 1: is that, well, if we we may want the thermostat 220 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: to shut off a couple of degrees cooler than what 221 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:56,520 Speaker 1: you said, it at because the room that's going to 222 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:59,000 Speaker 1: be closer to the actual event is going to be 223 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: warmer than where over the thermostat is, and the heat 224 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:05,000 Speaker 1: will disperse throughout the house. So it's kind of a 225 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:07,960 Speaker 1: way of making sure you don't get too warm, because 226 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:09,559 Speaker 1: then you're gonna be saying, they're thinking, I said it 227 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 1: to seventy two, and now it feels like it's like 228 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:15,559 Speaker 1: seventy six. What's going on? So um to do that, 229 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:19,719 Speaker 1: they have a resistor inside the thermostat, No, I'm not 230 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:24,680 Speaker 1: going so. Resistors will actually heat up as electricity goes 231 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,679 Speaker 1: through them, and the resistor itself acts as a heater 232 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: for that coil that's inside the thermostat, so it will 233 00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:34,080 Speaker 1: expand a little faster than it would if it were 234 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:38,840 Speaker 1: just measuring the ambient temperature of the air. Right, so uh, 235 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 1: that will cause the heater to to shut down a 236 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:45,440 Speaker 1: little more quickly than it would if if it were 237 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 1: just reacting to the ambient air temperature. So um, of course, 238 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:54,280 Speaker 1: if the house cools down, you know, after you've heated 239 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:56,920 Speaker 1: it up, then that coil is going to slowly start 240 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:01,199 Speaker 1: to contract, you know as as it's uh uh, as 241 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:03,600 Speaker 1: that temperature drops and if it contracts enough, then the 242 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:06,439 Speaker 1: mercury vial is going to tilt again, and that's going 243 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 1: to start the system all over again. You get that 244 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:12,200 Speaker 1: completed circuit, sends the electricity to the heater, and you 245 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:13,920 Speaker 1: start up again. The same thing is true by the 246 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:16,720 Speaker 1: way of air conditioning, except you know, you're talking about 247 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:20,080 Speaker 1: contracting instead of expanding. That's the it's just tilting the 248 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:24,120 Speaker 1: mercury vile the other way, and as the temperature goes down, 249 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 1: the coil contracts, and then the vial will eventually be 250 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:33,040 Speaker 1: set back to its central configuration. Uh. Now that this 251 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,960 Speaker 1: is your basic analog thermostat. That it's not the way 252 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 1: all thermostats work. It's the way the older ones work. 253 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:41,440 Speaker 1: So if you ever in a building that has that 254 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: and you hear that clicking noise, that's the sound of 255 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:51,160 Speaker 1: the vile actually turning and uh and and the circuit completing. Um, 256 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:56,040 Speaker 1: that's that's what you're hearing there. Some thermostats are using thermistors, 257 00:14:56,840 --> 00:15:00,720 Speaker 1: which are sort of digital thermometers. It's a little different. 258 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:04,760 Speaker 1: That's that's not UM based on the mercury switch necessarily, 259 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,080 Speaker 1: although some are kind of a hybrid between the two. Yeah, 260 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:11,200 Speaker 1: I actually think that that that system is brilliant because 261 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,240 Speaker 1: it's relying on the laws of physics. You know what, 262 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:17,400 Speaker 1: you're not going to change for the thermostat, So it's 263 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:19,440 Speaker 1: not like neutrinos are suddenly going to go faster than 264 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:23,560 Speaker 1: the speed of light. Right, um. And that was a joke, people, 265 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: I know, I'm reading up on the whole story. That 266 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,480 Speaker 1: was just a me playing playing a joke about the 267 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 1: laws of physics not changing. Right. No, But it's a 268 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:35,280 Speaker 1: it's a brilliant system because it's so simple and it's 269 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:39,600 Speaker 1: design um and very frankly, I've I've found that the 270 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,400 Speaker 1: manual thermostats, while they don't necessarily save you as much 271 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:45,800 Speaker 1: energy as a programmable uh, some programmable thermostats are real 272 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 1: painting the neck to you, especially if you don't realize 273 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: what what setting it's on, or you take a week 274 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:55,640 Speaker 1: of vacation and you're at home and you're thinking it's 275 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:59,040 Speaker 1: so warm, and oh it's on the programmed one as 276 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 1: opposed to a constant I almost always turned the program off, 277 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: which is not terribly um efficient and and actually one 278 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: could argue irresponsible of me because it means I'm wasting 279 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:13,600 Speaker 1: electricity and uh uh, that's probably no, that's I can't 280 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 1: really argue with that, right. Well, um, well, the digital 281 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 1: ones that use the thermistors. In case you're wondering how 282 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: the thermistor works, it actually is um allowing uh. It 283 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,480 Speaker 1: changes the electrical resistance of the material inside as the 284 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 1: temperature changes. That's how it determines, uh, if it's at 285 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:31,640 Speaker 1: the right temperature or not, or whether you know, the 286 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: the heating or cooling device needs to be still going. Um. 287 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: And of course the programmable thermostat still use still need 288 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 1: to be able to identify what temperature it is because um, 289 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:48,280 Speaker 1: you know, it's it's simply adding a layer of electronics 290 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 1: to the simplicity of the thermostat, because you know, you're 291 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:55,640 Speaker 1: just saying, okay, at six in the morning, I wanted 292 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:58,240 Speaker 1: at this temperature at you know, two in the afternoon, 293 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:00,600 Speaker 1: and I wanted at this temperature on the weekend, I 294 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:03,240 Speaker 1: wanted to be this. You know, Once you do that 295 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 1: and it has uh the clock in it internally set correctly, 296 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:11,240 Speaker 1: assuming that your batteries don't die. Um, you know, it's 297 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: it's just adding a layer of complexity. But the thermostat 298 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:17,439 Speaker 1: at its heart it's still using uh you know, basically 299 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:20,480 Speaker 1: measuring the temperature and using the switch to turn the 300 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:24,080 Speaker 1: heat or cooling system on or off. Yeah. Yeah, so yeah, 301 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:27,879 Speaker 1: there's certain components that are gonna be uh common across 302 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: all thermostats. They may not take the exact same form, 303 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 1: but they follow the same function. Yeah, even in a 304 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,479 Speaker 1: system where you have zoning. Yeah, zoning can be important 305 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 1: if you're in a well, if you're in the build 306 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:41,359 Speaker 1: office built in an office building, clearly you're gonna need 307 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,480 Speaker 1: zones because the especially if it's say it's a high 308 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: rise um or a skyscraper, that's the temperature is going 309 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:51,359 Speaker 1: to vary quite a bit from the very top to 310 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:53,760 Speaker 1: the very bottom. Especially if you imagine that there was 311 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:56,560 Speaker 1: no heating or cooling system in there at all, you 312 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:58,880 Speaker 1: would know, you know, well, it's gonna feel a lot 313 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: different on floor number one than it is on floor 314 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:05,600 Speaker 1: number fifty. So so you've gotta have special zoning in there. 315 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:08,080 Speaker 1: But even some houses will have it, especially depending on 316 00:18:08,119 --> 00:18:10,600 Speaker 1: the the layout of the house. You know, some houses 317 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,280 Speaker 1: are if they're like a flat style where it's it's 318 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:17,639 Speaker 1: multiple floors, it may be that the the bottom floor 319 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 1: is always much cooler than the top floor, and you 320 00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:24,920 Speaker 1: might want special zoning there so that the entire domicile 321 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:31,800 Speaker 1: remains and a comfortable temperature. Um. So yeah, I mean 322 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:36,800 Speaker 1: that's also fairly common. And we're also seeing some web 323 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:40,840 Speaker 1: connected thermostats these days where you can even you know, 324 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:46,640 Speaker 1: manage your home's climate remotely the Internet of Things, Yeah, 325 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:51,200 Speaker 1: which is interesting and frustrating in the sense that it's 326 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,560 Speaker 1: frustrating in the sense that there's not really a standard 327 00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:57,600 Speaker 1: way to approach this yet. So it's all proprietary. Yeah, 328 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:00,480 Speaker 1: but you can, you can. There's several different companies that 329 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:03,879 Speaker 1: offer home automation systems and basically what you do is 330 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:07,080 Speaker 1: you set the UH different systems up and we're talking 331 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 1: things like locking and unlocking the doors, turning lights off 332 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,520 Speaker 1: and on, um, the thermostat, and all sorts of other things, 333 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: perhaps UM camera security system some you know, the different things, 334 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 1: and you can have the system set up to where 335 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:23,280 Speaker 1: you can manage all these things through a computer or 336 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:26,640 Speaker 1: even your smartphone now um. And yeah, I mean it's 337 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 1: it's it's pretty simple. It's just uh, you're right. I 338 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:34,160 Speaker 1: mean a lot of the times the hardware UH is proprietary. 339 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:37,000 Speaker 1: So let's say you have one company and their billing 340 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 1: has gotten out of control, and I could I could 341 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 1: get a cheaper system. Um, you're likely to have to 342 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 1: have the new company come in and install their equipment, 343 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:48,840 Speaker 1: because it won't they can't go, oh, well, you know, 344 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,120 Speaker 1: I can, I can use so and So's equipment. You're 345 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:55,760 Speaker 1: probably not. Now that's not necessarily true, but it is 346 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 1: in in some cases. There's also the possibility. There's also 347 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,320 Speaker 1: the possibility that whatever company you go with ends up 348 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:04,480 Speaker 1: going out of business. And if that happens, if your 349 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:08,320 Speaker 1: commands are sent through corporate servers before they get to 350 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,119 Speaker 1: your house to make whatever the changes are, if that 351 00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:12,920 Speaker 1: company goes out of business, then you're out of luck. 352 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,720 Speaker 1: I mean, most of these systems still have the way 353 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:20,239 Speaker 1: you know, you can still program it manually, so that 354 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:22,919 Speaker 1: it's not like all functionality is gonna disappear. It's just 355 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,600 Speaker 1: that the extra stuff you pay for might not stick around. 356 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:30,280 Speaker 1: But that does bring us to an interesting development, something 357 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:34,159 Speaker 1: that has made the news recently. Uh, and it's it's 358 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 1: kind of interesting that that's such a you would normally 359 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:39,840 Speaker 1: think thermostats those are fairly mundane. Yeah, I mean the 360 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:42,639 Speaker 1: sort of thing that usually makes waves in the tech world. 361 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:46,560 Speaker 1: I could guarantee you that that the thermostat you were 362 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,760 Speaker 1: describing earlier in the episode is something that just about 363 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 1: everybody we're talking to on this podcast has seen in 364 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 1: somebody's house at some point. Yeah, simply because um it's 365 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:02,639 Speaker 1: so reliable. Thermostats don't just break in a lot of instances. 366 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,119 Speaker 1: So I've seen, you know, the old mechanical thermostats last 367 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:09,719 Speaker 1: years and years and years and years. Um so, and 368 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:11,960 Speaker 1: I could just about guarantee that people have seen the 369 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:16,679 Speaker 1: type that you were talking about before, the pre digital variety. Okay, 370 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:18,800 Speaker 1: now I've been chilling out to this podcast tool and 371 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:20,800 Speaker 1: now it's too cold in here, all right, I gotta 372 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:23,280 Speaker 1: make another adjustment. In the meantime, let's take a quick 373 00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:33,480 Speaker 1: break to thank our sponsor. So, you know, other than 374 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 1: the programmable thermostat, there hasn't been I would say, a 375 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:42,119 Speaker 1: massive surge in thermostat technology. Yeah, the web connection is 376 00:21:42,119 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 1: probably the closest thing that we can come to. But 377 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,800 Speaker 1: even then you're just adding some sort of connectivity to 378 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: the device. In this case, we're talking about something that 379 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,879 Speaker 1: that goes a step beyond just connectivity. And we owe 380 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 1: thanks to Mr Tony Fidel, who made a real name 381 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,719 Speaker 1: for him self developing being one of the developers on 382 00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:08,960 Speaker 1: a truly iconic product, which is the iPod. And in fact, 383 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,120 Speaker 1: it's so iconic that we have podcasting. Uh. And yeah, 384 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:14,560 Speaker 1: there are people who refer to it as netcasting or 385 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,720 Speaker 1: or webcasting, but but truth you know, the podcasting is 386 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:23,120 Speaker 1: like the common that's different. Podcasting is is the common 387 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:25,200 Speaker 1: term for what what it is that Chris and I 388 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:29,479 Speaker 1: are doing right now. Um, and we you know, it 389 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,440 Speaker 1: owes everything to the Apple iPod. It was the MP 390 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:34,920 Speaker 1: three player that it was not the first MP three 391 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,639 Speaker 1: player to hit the market, but it was a huge 392 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:41,440 Speaker 1: success and it essentially defined in the market once once 393 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:45,280 Speaker 1: the iPod hit and people started to adopt it, all 394 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:48,960 Speaker 1: other MP three players at that point for moving forward 395 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:53,520 Speaker 1: were essentially guided by the iPod. Either they were trying 396 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:55,800 Speaker 1: to do what the iPod did but do it better, 397 00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,240 Speaker 1: or to try and completely depart from the way the 398 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:01,880 Speaker 1: iPod did things in a way to differentiate the the 399 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:07,960 Speaker 1: product from the standard bearer. Really so well, I was 400 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:09,840 Speaker 1: gonna say one of the things that made the iPod 401 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:13,960 Speaker 1: great and it's time was the simplicity of its controls. 402 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:18,000 Speaker 1: And you'll remember, just a couple of minutes ago, I 403 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,520 Speaker 1: was talking about how some digital thermostats can be a 404 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,639 Speaker 1: real pain in the neck to use UM because the 405 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:31,320 Speaker 1: controls aren't necessarily UM aren't necessarily straightforward in their labeling. Yeah, 406 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,720 Speaker 1: or it may it may take multiple steps just for 407 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:37,320 Speaker 1: you to go. Like if you want to get really 408 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:42,040 Speaker 1: granular with your programming, so that you know, for instance, uh, 409 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:44,240 Speaker 1: you might tell a work one day out of the week, 410 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:46,520 Speaker 1: and so you want that one day out of the 411 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: week to have a slightly different program than all the 412 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:52,480 Speaker 1: other work days that you have. You know, so let's 413 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:54,720 Speaker 1: say that you let's say you work from home on Tuesdays, 414 00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:58,640 Speaker 1: and so, uh, you know, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 415 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:00,400 Speaker 1: you want to set up so that's going to save 416 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:04,239 Speaker 1: as much electricity as possible while you're away. But on 417 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:06,359 Speaker 1: Tuesday's you're going to be home. So you're gotta make 418 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:08,919 Speaker 1: sure that when you program your your thermostat that the 419 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:12,600 Speaker 1: Tuesday is the exception and your weekends are exceptions because 420 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:15,160 Speaker 1: you know your weekend you're not gonna be away from 421 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,480 Speaker 1: your home the way you are during the work week. 422 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:24,960 Speaker 1: So getting this program in a typical digital thermostat can 423 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:28,440 Speaker 1: sometimes be frustrating. It's like setting an old VCR you're 424 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:35,160 Speaker 1: put kids, ask your parents what VCRs were. But Monday, Tuesday, right, okay, 425 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:39,680 Speaker 1: Wednesday two pm, three pm too late, gott to go 426 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:42,480 Speaker 1: around the horn. Yeah so yeah, back, it could be 427 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:44,200 Speaker 1: a little bit of a frustration, a little bit of 428 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:50,080 Speaker 1: an exercise and frustration. So the Mr Fidel, who now 429 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:54,320 Speaker 1: works for a company called Nest Labs, decided to try 430 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:57,720 Speaker 1: and develop a thermostat that would be easy to program, 431 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 1: and not just easy to program, but could learn how 432 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:05,920 Speaker 1: to program your climate control system in your home based 433 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:10,560 Speaker 1: upon your activities. Yeah. Yeah, now, I mean Nest Labs 434 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:15,800 Speaker 1: is a fairly new company. Um uh Matt Rodgers, who 435 00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:19,760 Speaker 1: worked on the the iPod and iPad, was the co 436 00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 1: founder and vice president of engineering for Nest Labs. Um 437 00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:28,640 Speaker 1: and he uh. He interviewed with uh Martin Lamonica at 438 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,879 Speaker 1: uh C net, which was an interesting interview. I'm just 439 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,640 Speaker 1: talking about how the point is to make a very 440 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:39,040 Speaker 1: simple and easy to use thermostat that picks up, uh, 441 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:41,520 Speaker 1: picks up what you're trying to lay down. Man. Yeah, 442 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:44,720 Speaker 1: it's it's paying attention to the way you like things. 443 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: It's called the the it's the Nest thermostat, the and 444 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:52,760 Speaker 1: the nest learning thermostat in fact, uh so uh very 445 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:56,840 Speaker 1: simple looking designs, a little round thermostat has has the 446 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:00,960 Speaker 1: temperature and nice big digits so it's easy to need. UM. 447 00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:03,400 Speaker 1: It even has a little leaf icon that will pop 448 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:06,440 Speaker 1: up whenever you're using the thermostat to its to its 449 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:10,320 Speaker 1: best efficiency, so that you're saving power and you're conserving electricity. 450 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 1: We've seen that actually in other products as well, particularly 451 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:16,400 Speaker 1: in cars. Cars that are supposed to be energy efficient, 452 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:18,920 Speaker 1: now many of them, Yeah they have a little leaf icon, 453 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:24,720 Speaker 1: the Nissan Leaf being the leading example. But yeah, seeing 454 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:28,160 Speaker 1: this pop up in other products now and in this case, yeah, 455 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:30,879 Speaker 1: it has this feature where not to you have the 456 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:35,400 Speaker 1: remote control that you have with other web enabled thermostats, 457 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:40,640 Speaker 1: but in this case it actually starts to um follow 458 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:45,960 Speaker 1: what you do and it will start to proactively make 459 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:49,119 Speaker 1: adjustments based upon what you have done in the past, 460 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,560 Speaker 1: and it will even do things like connect to the 461 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:57,480 Speaker 1: web and look at things like weather reports. So you 462 00:26:57,480 --> 00:26:59,400 Speaker 1: know you've set up the system, you have a web 463 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: enabled to some it knows where you are based upon 464 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:04,280 Speaker 1: the information you've put in. It's not like there's a 465 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:06,760 Speaker 1: GPS or anything in it. It's that you are entering 466 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:10,240 Speaker 1: this information. So in our case, we'd say Atlanta, Georgia. 467 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:13,720 Speaker 1: And then because it knows we're in Atlanta, Georgia, let's 468 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:16,240 Speaker 1: say there's a heat wave that's moving through Atlanta, Georgia, 469 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,600 Speaker 1: it already knows proactively that the temperature outside is going 470 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:22,280 Speaker 1: to to go up, and it starts to prepare everything 471 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:25,639 Speaker 1: so that the air conditioning system is going to be 472 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:29,160 Speaker 1: more active during those times than it would be if 473 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:33,320 Speaker 1: the temperature were, you know, more moderate. So it's kind 474 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,919 Speaker 1: of interesting in that it's not just learning how you work, 475 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,440 Speaker 1: Like maybe it learns, you know what, he likes it 476 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,040 Speaker 1: pretty cool at night, but by the time it starts 477 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:46,320 Speaker 1: getting to the morning and wants a little bit warmer, 478 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 1: it starts to make those adjustments based upon how you 479 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:54,320 Speaker 1: adjust the thermostat yourself. Um, it also will anticipate your 480 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:57,160 Speaker 1: needs based upon what's going on outside. It's pretty cool. 481 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:00,119 Speaker 1: It is very cool. It is also very pricey. It's 482 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:02,280 Speaker 1: around two and fifty dollars, and here here in the 483 00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:06,159 Speaker 1: United States, that's quite a bit more than most programmable 484 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:09,640 Speaker 1: thermostats i've seen. That being said, two fifty dollars when 485 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:14,879 Speaker 1: you look at personal electronics is really reasonable. I mean, like, 486 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,680 Speaker 1: like I'm looking, I'm I'm When I heard two hundred 487 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:22,280 Speaker 1: fifty dollars, my reaction was wow, that's all. But that 488 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,680 Speaker 1: was because I was thinking about the smart technology and 489 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 1: the programmability and and how it does this anticipation, and 490 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:32,800 Speaker 1: how much money it would, at least in theory or 491 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:35,720 Speaker 1: could save you. Because that's the big thing is that 492 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:42,560 Speaker 1: up to fifty of the typical American electric bill goes 493 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:46,480 Speaker 1: to heating and cooling, So if you were to improve efficiencies, 494 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:48,840 Speaker 1: you could theoretically save money. In fact, there are some 495 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,080 Speaker 1: estimates I saw where you could save up to a 496 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:54,240 Speaker 1: thousand dollars a year with the right system in place, 497 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:56,080 Speaker 1: which means that in a quarter of a year you've 498 00:28:56,080 --> 00:29:00,440 Speaker 1: already paid off the purchase price of the Nest. Yeah. 499 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:03,960 Speaker 1: That being said, Nest is not sponsoring this podcast. This 500 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:06,600 Speaker 1: isn't an advertisement for Nest. It just was one of 501 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:08,160 Speaker 1: the points that they brought up, at least in their 502 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 1: marketing speak. Yeah, and and it's important to note too 503 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:15,080 Speaker 1: that this system isn't so firmly ingrained in another system 504 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:17,960 Speaker 1: to the point where it can't be used as a 505 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,920 Speaker 1: standalone device. As a matter of fact, that it's uh 506 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:26,360 Speaker 1: um even though the creators are are formal former appollites. UM. 507 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:29,520 Speaker 1: The Nest can be used with an iOS device or 508 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:33,560 Speaker 1: an Android device so that you can actually uh make 509 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,200 Speaker 1: contact with it and change the temperature if you need 510 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 1: to UM. And it uses WiFi on its own, so UM. 511 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:42,320 Speaker 1: You know, it doesn't have to be hooked into some 512 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:47,640 Speaker 1: brain somewhere else in the building as as some other systems. 513 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:49,520 Speaker 1: And I want to point out to it's not all 514 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 1: home automation technology that requires those systems, but some of 515 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:56,240 Speaker 1: them do. UM. So there are some that just hook 516 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:58,479 Speaker 1: up directly to your home network, and this is one 517 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:03,160 Speaker 1: of those examples. This links directly into your home wireless network. Earlier, 518 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:05,520 Speaker 1: I was thinking of the home automation system that is 519 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:09,160 Speaker 1: offered through my alarm company, and if I wanted just 520 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:11,840 Speaker 1: a centralized operating so yeah, exactly, and if I wanted 521 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:14,760 Speaker 1: to take advantage of that uh and and later on 522 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:17,360 Speaker 1: switch providers, they would end up not being able to 523 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:19,400 Speaker 1: use that equipment. But yeah, there there's other stuff you 524 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:21,960 Speaker 1: can use now. According to Nest Labs, it takes about 525 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:24,880 Speaker 1: a week for this thermostat to learn what you like 526 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:28,360 Speaker 1: based upon you know what what you tell it during 527 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:30,520 Speaker 1: during that first week, which is kind of interesting to 528 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:35,320 Speaker 1: me too, that the algorithms are so so um sophisticated 529 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:38,280 Speaker 1: that you can pick up on your activities that quickly. 530 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 1: Um raisins he likes. It makes me wanna. It makes 531 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 1: me think that there's gotta be ways where you can 532 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:48,240 Speaker 1: screw with it. Like I would just imagine going to 533 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:51,320 Speaker 1: someone's house who has this and just like they're just 534 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:53,680 Speaker 1: gonna think that he wanted at ninety two degrees at 535 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:57,560 Speaker 1: three in the morning. Well, and and yesterday, um, literally 536 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,479 Speaker 1: yesterday for then they were recording this. Uh, the uh 537 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 1: maintenance guy came to do our semi annual uh check 538 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:06,960 Speaker 1: up on my furnace and you know, does the heating 539 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 1: and air conditioning thing. And of course to do that 540 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:12,520 Speaker 1: they have to crank up the thermostat to something that's 541 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:14,800 Speaker 1: ridiculously higher to make sure the heat or the air 542 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:17,640 Speaker 1: conditioning comes on so they can check it. And so 543 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:19,480 Speaker 1: I wonder what the nest would do. It's like, wait 544 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:24,080 Speaker 1: a minute, why does he suddenly wanted at eighty five degrees? Uh, 545 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:27,920 Speaker 1: that's kind of strange anyway, Uh, it's interesting to see 546 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:31,960 Speaker 1: that they're just it's interesting interesting to see some some 547 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:34,960 Speaker 1: real development in this field. When you know, when you 548 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,840 Speaker 1: consider that again, like Chris was saying, this is not 549 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:40,760 Speaker 1: exactly one of those technologies that has had you know, 550 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,800 Speaker 1: a meteoric rise in sophistication over the last several decades, 551 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:47,160 Speaker 1: and for the for many years, it just kind of 552 00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:50,760 Speaker 1: the old the old analog systems were that was that 553 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:54,200 Speaker 1: was what you saw. Yeah, but you know, they're all 554 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:58,040 Speaker 1: still based on the same principle of trying to to 555 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:01,120 Speaker 1: get the climate at the right perture and then maintaining 556 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:06,400 Speaker 1: that until you change the settings. So some thing's never change. 557 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:10,000 Speaker 1: By the way, if you are interested in reading more 558 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:14,080 Speaker 1: about the thermostats and exactly how these these systems work 559 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:17,600 Speaker 1: and things like the bimetallic thermometers, um, we have some 560 00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:21,000 Speaker 1: articles on how stuff works that cover this, including how 561 00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:25,240 Speaker 1: home thermostats work, which is a very comprehensive article about 562 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:28,280 Speaker 1: the whole system. And then we have how thermometers work, 563 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:31,160 Speaker 1: which was written by our very own martial brain uh 564 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:34,000 Speaker 1: that will go on into more detail about things like 565 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,280 Speaker 1: the bimetallic thermometers if you want, if you're interested and 566 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:39,840 Speaker 1: want to learn more about that, you want to get 567 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:43,960 Speaker 1: deeper into the physics of it. I recommend both of those, alright, guys. 568 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:47,240 Speaker 1: That wraps up this classic episode of tech Stuff where 569 00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:51,000 Speaker 1: we talked about thermostats. It was always enjoyed to revisit 570 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:53,800 Speaker 1: those episodes I recorded with Chris Palette so long ago. 571 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:56,920 Speaker 1: Hope you guys enjoyed it as well. If you want 572 00:32:56,960 --> 00:32:59,560 Speaker 1: to learn more about the show, including ways to contact us, 573 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:02,760 Speaker 1: hey it on over to tech Stuff podcast dot com. 574 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:05,080 Speaker 1: That there's all the information right over there, and go 575 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:08,160 Speaker 1: to t public dot com slash tech stuff to visit 576 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:10,800 Speaker 1: our merchandise store. That's where you're going to find all 577 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:15,160 Speaker 1: the cool tech stuff stuff like tope bags and T 578 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:19,000 Speaker 1: shirts and stickers, things like that. Check that out and 579 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:27,400 Speaker 1: I'll talk to you again really soon for more on 580 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:29,960 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics because it how stuff 581 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:40,400 Speaker 1: works dot com