Heating that follows the hall’s diary.

The brief

The hall’s heating could be controlled remotely, but only by hand: someone had to turn the temperature up before every meeting, then switch it off afterwards. The hall already kept every booking in one shared Google Calendar, so we made that calendar the switch.

Before and now

• Before

  • Someone adjusted the temperature remotely before every meeting.
  • Someone switched the heating off again afterwards.
  • It all depended on that person remembering, every time.

• Now

  • Google Calendar is the switch: book the hall and the heating follows.
  • The Hive thermostat warms up half an hour before the booking, and goes back to its normal schedule when it ends.
  • Nobody has to remember or adjust anything.

What we built

• Warm before people arrive

  The hall’s shared Google Calendar is the trigger. Half an hour before a booking starts, the Hive thermostat is brought up to a comfortable level, so the hall is ready when the first person walks in.

• Back to normal afterwards

  When the booking ends, the Hive thermostat goes back to its usual schedule. Nobody has to remember to turn it down.

• No heating an empty hall

  If the usual schedule would run the hall hotter than needed while nobody is booked in, it is held back to a modest level until the next booking.

• Watched, and backed up

  It checks itself through the day. If the heating stops following the diary we are told straight away, and a morning message confirms the checks themselves are still running. Its settings are copied every night, so it can be rebuilt.

How it fits in

• It reads the hall’s own shared Google Calendar, so bookings are made the way they always were.
• It controls the hall’s existing Hive thermostat, so nothing new is fitted to the heating.
• It runs on our side, so there is no extra equipment in the building.
• There is nothing for the hall to log into or look after day to day.