Figure 9.15: The Tado heating controller and smartphone app
The Hive Active Thermostat heating controller is a standard thermostat with
on-device controls (see figure 9.16). The device is designed to be competitive
on cost with non-connected heating controllers. So interaction design has to
work within the constraints of an LCD screen and limited number of buttons.
However heating can also be controlled by phone and web apps, which are
probably easier for most people to use than the hardware. This means that
heating controls are available to anyone in the house, whether they have access
to the smartphone app or not.