A valid point, I think most of the high-end smart thermostats will have touch screens, but then again you may not have to spend $300 if a $80 device does all you want and has buttons. For me it's not such a big concern because while "Hey Siri" or "Alexa" may not work without internet, "Hey Jackie" works really well for me, she also responds to "Honey" and "Sweetie" so a definite bonus! Of course now that we have the mini-split heat pump system where each of the 4 different indoor units has its own remote control (with buttons, not touch screen) also helps. We still have an electric backup furnace which replaces our old natural gas furnace and which is a central forced air system and it's still connected to my old Honeywell T5, but we only need that if it gets to be around -25 Celsius or colder when the air source heat pump is no longer efficient enough and if I don't feel like lighting a fire in our wood stove.
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of M. Taylor Sent: Sunday, August 6, 2023 12:18 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: I Continue to Appreciate the Accessibility of Apple Home Kit Hello Sieghard, Thank you for this information. One complaint I have received from two totally blind list members is that the Ecobee is a touch-surface-only device. While this is not a problem as long as the internet connection is up and running, when down, the unit is completely unusable by a blind person. The model I purchased has hardware buttons that can control the unit without the Wi-fi or Internet. Although rare, there have been times when I’ve had OS hardware hick-ups and it is good to be able to control the unit without a smart device, at hand. Mark From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Sieghard Weitzel Sent: Sunday, August 6, 2023 12:06 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: I Continue to Appreciate the Accessibility of Apple Home Kit Hi Richard, While I am obviously not Mark and I don't know what he is using, I would take a look at the Honeywell T9 and T10 and Ecobee is also Home Kit compatible and seems to be very highly ranked in many reviews. Both the Ecobee and T9 can be paired with remote sensors which you can put in other rooms. Here is a good article which I found recently and which summarizes some of these choices and more; the Ecobee premium also has a built-in microphone which allows you to use Siri and Alexa directly from the thermostat which I think might be quite nice. There is also one mentioned which is a connected smart thermostat, but it has a knob like an old radio dial which allows you to change the temperature on device.. https://www.imore.com/best-homekit-thermostats -----Original Message----- From: mailto:[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> On Behalf Of Richard Sent: Sunday, August 6, 2023 6:17 AM To: mailto:[email protected] Subject: RE: I Continue to Appreciate the Accessibility of Apple Home Kit Mark, what thermostat are you using? That alone could cause me to purchase the home kit. Thanks! -----Original Message----- From: mailto:[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> On Behalf Of M. Taylor Sent: Friday, August 4, 2023 9:07 AM To: mailto:[email protected] Subject: I Continue to Appreciate the Accessibility of Apple Home Kit Hello Everyone, During the winter, I had a Home Kit compatible thermostat installed in my house. I continue to truly appreciate the temperature control I now enjoy via iOS and iPad OS. Until I installed this thermostat, I either had to turn the A/C either on or off. The old legacy thermostats was simply not accessible to me as a blind person. However, I recently began having Siri keep the house between 2 temperature set points such as 78 to 82 degrees. It is wonderful. Now I know this is not a big deal for sighted people but, until now, I have not enjoyed this capability, completely independent of a sighted person. When I am away from the house for any significant period of time, with the A/C off, I tell Siri to turn the A/C on before I get home and the house is already nice and cool. Now I know this can be done with both Alexa and the Google assistant so I am not promoting Siri over anything; I just continue to be amazed at the level of accessibility that I never would have dreamed of 30 years ago. Mark -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. 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