Smart thermostats are the trendy new thing in HVAC technology, but I remember a time when programmable thermostats were all the rage.

My mom had to convince my dad to get a programmable thermostat, because he was so accustomed to a dial thermostat.

He thought it was silly to have anything more than a thermostat that you walk up to and adjust manually. Anything more was frivolous to him. She had to convince him in a way that he could relate to. She asked him how much he appreciated using a remote control to change the channels on a TV as opposed to having to walk up to it and change them manually. She then asked how he would like it if he could pre-program a schedule on the thermostat so that it shuts the air off automatically at the time he leaves for work and turns it on shortly before he returns. He thought that was pretty cool. My dad liked it particularly cool and crisp in the master bedroom at night, so my mom asked him how he would like it if the temperature automatically went down in the evening around bedtime because it was pre-programmed to do so? These arguments eventually sold my father on getting a programmable thermostat. I have to say that we did enjoy the benefits of it. It’s funny, because I recently talked to my father about smart thermostats, and he said “Now that’s taking it way too far!” I might have exaggerated how autonomous the smart thermostat is just to get a rise out of him!