Re: A suggestion for you.

["RoughRider" <Post@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I can appreciate what you are trying to do and wish to encourage you.  You
have very good initiative and drive.    Your web site is spiffy and clean.

But here is a candid comment about the communicating thermostat that is only
worthy as one persons opinion.  Take it with a grain of salt...

People need to have an attractive looking thermo on the wall.  And it has to
be reliable, else the pipes can freeze if there is failure... or the house
can get very hot if things lock up the other way.  There is also the
required flexibility for 2 stage heat and cool, or heat pump operation.

My suggestion:  Perhaps there are reasonably priced commercial thermos
available that offer RS485 or 232 communication (Robertshaw is one that
comes to mind... there are others too) and you can add an inexpensive
Ethernet interface with Web page management?  Even add multiple temp sensors
using 1-wire?  Or a variety of other temperature related features, but leave
the thermostat on the wall as a commercial product.

Communicating clock is nice in an E911 call center, building or subway
station, but for home an attractive WWVB controlled clock can be had for
$30.  But you should indeed display the correct time on your communicating
thermo or the display of other devices you connect to.  And if the master
controller or automation system communicates over IP, than NTP would be
standard.

Here is another project for you along these lines of improving commercial
products... everyone can buy a solar powered garden light for $5 or less.
But the dumb thing stays on all night until dawn.  If that is followed by a
cloudy day, there is no light the following night since the battery is dead.
Design a simple 4 hour timer that turns the light off when people are
asleep... or a simple 8 pin PIC or AVR chip that figures out how long the
day is and can adjust itself to turn off around midnight, give or take a few
minutes.  It can be smart enough to flash the LED every so often if the
battery is weak.  Again, this concept takes the commercially built device
and adds some "extras" to it.  I don't know how this would interest others,
but it results in "special" features that other people cannot purchase in
the store and utilizes the commercial product as the base.

Again... no discouragement...it is just one opinion...  just channeling your
energy into a slightly different angle.

Good luck!