78 is "unbearably hot?" and places his bay at risk of dehydration? Maybe he should not pile blankets and comforters on top if it so incredibly hot.
This guy is a drama king and a waster of energy.
Read the fine print next time you join a thermostat program run by the power company in a state well know for screwing its power grid and being unable to meet demand even during normal times.
I appreciate that this was part of an opt-in programme (and a bit dumbfounded and impressed that anyone in Texas or any other southern-half state would opt-in), but I feel like the commenters are rather missing the point: Texas’ power grid doesn’t work well because it’s been very poorly managed over a long period because some stupid and/or rich people think deregulation and the resulting chaos is still better than mild public-utility regulation, and the private sector has taken full advantage of that.
The people who run the grid didn’t care if people froze to death during the last big failure, and they will not care if some customers die for lack of power to run medical equipment or AC now.
Unsupervised/unregulated private ownership of public utilities that people depend on for SURVIVAL is utter and immoral madness.
Temperature comfort is individualized. For me, 78 degrees is uncomfortable but certainly not unbearable. On the other hand, my wife would find it quite comfortable.The only issue is whether or not the citizens who signed up for this were fully aware of this possibility or somehow duped.
This has got to be the biggest article about nothing. The ignorance of people, and the media to capitalize on that ignorance is so strong in this article.
It's crap faux-outrage like this that motivates me to shut down my Internet access and live in a cabin.
This is the most absurdly dramatic and sensational article ever written… tampered? Please. Someone was sweating? Rough life. Someone dehydrating in “unbearable” 78 degree heat? They upped the temp by four degrees… Christ on crutches. Just delete this and try again. So poorly written.
Who in the world other than entitled rich people calls 78 degrees unbearably hot?
Why should we care that entitled rich people are sweating?
This was Texas. Have you not lived in the south or an area with extreme heat? If your AC turns off and you’re in a far room away from the thermostat you’ll start sweating pretty quickly before the thermostat in the living room catches up to the heat. This problem needs to be solved.
This has nothing to do with HomeKit. The thermostats that are in question are connected to the internet and and can be controlled via apps. None of that requires HomeKit. Where I live (in Texas) the utility company will provide you a credit if you buy a qualifying thermostat and as part of getting the credit you grant them access to control the temperature if they need to. None of which has anything to do with HomeKit.
So if my thermostat is connected via HomeKit 3rd parties can’t access it. Got it.
Maybe read some of the posts of people in these programs. You'll gain a better understanding of the topic. Right now, you're so hung up on Homekit and the "Apple" connection you can't see there isn't an Apple connection at all. This program, and those like it across the country, is voluntary. The power company isn't arbitrarily accessing people's thermostats. In exchange for various incentives, participants give the power company access to their thermostats. There is no scary 3rd party accessing people's devices without their consent and knowledge.
Homekit and Apple play no part in that process. Don't let the headline trick you into thinking otherwise. It seems AI is using click bait headlines more and more often. I hope it isn't a continuing trend.
I live in the midwest and our power company has a similar program. The don't access your thermostat though, they install a module that just directly turns your heat pump off for a period of time. In return, you get a small credit on your power bill. If they actually offered a smart thermostat and a more substantial credit, I might go for it, but the $5 per month for three months is a paltry sum, so I've never bothered.
I thought only the user had access to their smart devices. The fact 3rd parties can control them is scary.
Anything connected to the Internet has a chance of being controlled by someone you don't want.
However in this case, they signed up for the program. The click baity title and tone of the article is unecessary - except without it no one would be clicking on it or commenting.
I live in the midwest and our power company has a similar program. The don't access your thermostat though, they install a module that just directly turns your heat pump off for a period of time. In return, you get a small credit on your power bill. If they actually offered a smart thermostat and a more substantial credit, I might go for it, but the $5 per month for three months is a paltry sum, so I've never bothered.
It’s the same here in MN - there’s a switch they install on the AC compressor unit that cycles on and off. A smart thermostat seems like a better way, though.
Completely agree with many other comments, though. This is a total clickbait article that misrepresents and overstates what is really an non-issue. (I notice that AI at least deleted the original article that was even worse.)
This entire article is complete bullshit. 78° F is NOT ‘unbearably hot’ under any setting. A three month old child will NOT dehydrate in 78° F. Sheesh, talk about hysteria.
And this is just the beginning. Expect mandatory environmental control to increase as demand for energy rises geometrically while fossil fueled power plants are shut down, hydroelectric dams are blown up, and nuclear plants are blocked at every turn by environmentalists. Fusion power will remain a pipe dream for decades to come. Wind and solar panels cannot store enough energy to meet daily loads, let alone base loads.
You were doing so well in the beginning, until your diatribe about environmentalists. Nuclear certainly isn’t ideal, as we have no good ideas to do with the radioactive waste that will outlast us all. With the high profile failures at nuclear facilities there is every reason to not find it an ideal solution.
It’s stuff like this is why I don’t give ANY IoT stuff access to the internet. Keep it all local, nothing in or out of the firewall to these devices Have to be on the wifi/network in order to control them. You lose the convenience of being able to change things while you’re out and about, but it’s a small price to pay to ensure security. There’s always the possibility of setting a vpn to access the things on your network.
This entire article is complete bullshit. 78° F is NOT ‘unbearably hot’ under any setting. A three month old child will NOT dehydrate in 78° F. Sheesh, talk about hysteria.
And this is just the beginning. Expect mandatory environmental control to increase as demand for energy rises geometrically while fossil fueled power plants are shut down, hydroelectric dams are blown up, and nuclear plants are blocked at every turn by environmentalists. Fusion power will remain a pipe dream for decades to come. Wind and solar panels cannot store enough energy to meet daily loads, let alone base loads.
You were doing so well in the beginning, until your diatribe about environmentalists. Nuclear certainly isn’t ideal, as we have no good ideas to do with the radioactive waste that will outlast us all. With the high profile failures at nuclear facilities there is every reason to not find it an ideal solution.
Yeah, like I said, you guys are blocking nuclear at every turn. No nuclear, no coal, no natural gas, no hydroelectric, only wind and solar which can’t even begin to supply the energy needs of the future. Solar and wind cannot be stored as we don’t have the battery technology to do it on the massive scale required. So when the wind stops and the sun goes down energy production stops. Then what? It’s a fantasy dream that we can do without nuclear or fossil. For the foreseeable future both will be required to meet ever increasing demand
It’s stuff like this is why I don’t give ANY IoT stuff access to the internet. Keep it all local, nothing in or out of the firewall to these devices Have to be on the wifi/network in order to control them. You lose the convenience of being able to change things while you’re out and about, but it’s a small price to pay to ensure security. There’s always the possibility of setting a vpn to access the things on your network.
Stuff like what? Participating customers allow the power company to adjust the thermostat to help with load balancing. In return, the power companies offer the customers varying incentives. This is not a security issue.
Who in the world other than entitled rich people calls 78 degrees unbearably hot?
I guess the concern was for the infant, but I was kind of thinking the same thing. We're in a bit of a heat wave here in Victoria, BC as well, where most of us don't have A/C. I'm pretty sure it's at least 78 in our place right now.
Who in the world other than entitled rich people calls 78 degrees unbearably hot?
I guess the concern was for the infant, but I was kind of thinking the same thing. We're in a bit of a heat wave here in Victoria, BC as well, where most of us don't have A/C. I'm pretty sure it's at least 78 in our place right now.
Comments
This guy is a drama king and a waster of energy.
Read the fine print next time you join a thermostat program run by the power company in a state well know for screwing its power grid and being unable to meet demand even during normal times.
The people who run the grid didn’t care if people froze to death during the last big failure, and they will not care if some customers die for lack of power to run medical equipment or AC now.
Unsupervised/unregulated private ownership of public utilities that people depend on for SURVIVAL is utter and immoral madness.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325232
Homekit and Apple play no part in that process. Don't let the headline trick you into thinking otherwise. It seems AI is using click bait headlines more and more often. I hope it isn't a continuing trend.
However in this case, they signed up for the program. The click baity title and tone of the article is unecessary - except without it no one would be clicking on it or commenting.
Manufactured news...
What next? Post an article about “cold-intolerant” people living in Minneapolis in the winter?