Remote Control Energy Thermostat

Here's an interesting innovation that could help bring homes into the modern age. If you think about it, houses have remained stubbornly primitive in their inability to tell us about themselves. Unlike a car--a far less expensive item--a house can't tell you how much energy it's using, has no remote control features, no sensors to tell you if something's amiss, etc., etc.

I recently heard an ad for some sort of remote control feature by Schlage. An internet search yielded a link to a $150 thermostat, and some reviews at amazon.com. From reading the reviews at amazon.com, if becomes apparent that the device can be just as easily used to increase one's use of energy (e.g. turn the A/C on before you arrive home) as to reduce it. But just as people are asked to turn off their cell phones at the beginning of a concert, the concept of a room full of people being able to turn down their homes' energy use via cell phone remote control is appealing.