Re: And
RE: Programmable Thermostats
I have one too. It comes on just long enough before I get out of bed to warm the house up enough if not already there, and turns off before I have to leave for work.
It stays off all day until just before I get home, which due to regular hours is generally about the same time, and then once it has done its job for a few hours, turns off again, so the house can gently cool.
If I need it on longer, I just have to tap it when I walk past to get a drink, snack etc from the kitchen.
I have a very new, very well insulated house that doesn't leak much heat, that usually doesn't even trigger the heating for most of the year, body heat and other minor assorted heat sources being enough to keep the temperature up.
Where will a smart meter help me here?
>It would be nice when I turn off a device it is off, not on some sort of standby eating juice...
If saving juice is you concern, then having a degree of automation on lights, windows, window blinds and thermostats can actually save energy.
Take blinds - a PV powered motor could close the blinds whenever the temperature in the room rises above X, thus reducing the amount of sunlight that enters. It would be self contained, and it wouldn't communicate with anything other than a manual overide switch (aka an 'Off' switch).
Sounds like a plan, you could probably build that for peanuts with an arduino, or a breadboard and some cheap logic in a box.