[OpenTRV-dev] UI simplification

[Bo Herrmannsen]

1) Always at least frost protection unless user spec complete off

2) not sure i get the point.. (just got out of bed)

but the idea of not needing a manuel is good.... must be sure the TRV is as
easy as mechanical ones..

while on the subject... make sure users can jump modes more easy than on
say rev1.. i had a hard time figuring what mode i was in. Also when i say
enabled boost mode it would take 1-2 minutes before the LED showed the
change.. until i remembered this i thought i did not change mode

also when i use learn the unit jumped back to frost once the learn period
was over.. made it a chilly experience when outside temp was -20 :-D should
it not jump back to warm but at reduced temp?

2014-10-23 12:35 GMT+02:00 Damon Hart-Davis <EMAIL ADDRESS HIDDEN>:

> Hi,
>
> Our all-in-one valve being production-engineered right now looks very like
> a normal mechanical TRV.
>
> I was just having another think about how people use and abuse existing
> TRVs, and I think that I may have found a useful simplification of the UI,
> but I’d like some opinions.
>
> 1) If one of the new OpenTRV units was installed without any instruction
> manuals I think most users would expect that if they turn it right down it
> will be off or providing frost protection.
>
> As things stand it will be at a base temperature of ~16C and could still
> be in ‘WARM’ mode all the time for example.
>
> So the first thought is that if the pot is turned right down (say) into
> the bottom 10% of the range it should force FROST protection mode (rather
> than completely ‘off’).  No other clicking of buttons necessary.
>
> So that makes it intuitive for people to turn the thing off.
>
> 2) The way that people tend to abuse TRVs when the room is too warm is to
> turn them right up to max and then forget about them, thus causing
> overheating (and often a bout of wasteful window opening).
>
> Supposing instead that turning the dial right up (into the top 10% of the
> scale for example) engages ‘BAKE’ for the normal 30 minutes and then
> reverts to a decent, safe, reasonably efficient 18C or so, ie in ‘WARM’
> mode.  That should kill the overheating problem.  It also means they have a
> known simple way to force the radiator on, even if not the most subtle.
>
> If someone is more thoughtful in their operation and adjusts to near the
> top of the range but out of that top part then they can select a steady
> target temperature of up to ~23C, and using the button action they can
> switch the stuff between FROST, WARM and BAKE modes at will at any
> temperature in the range ~16C to ~23C.
>
> The key point here is just using the temperature dial will often be enough
> and will generally avoid overheating.
>
> The aim is for no one to ever have to refer to an instruction manual to
> get basic functionality (though it may make our printed legend for the dial
> a bit more complex!).
>
> Does that sound like a good idea?
>
> Rgds
>
> Damon
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