[COLUG] Offtopic: Hardware Hacker List? Parallel Backup Thermostat

[jep200404]

Josh wrote: 

> (Of course I could 
> always do something much simpler, a thermometer and a switch, but I don't 
> like the idea of waking up to a frozen house if the program crashes.  The 
> thermostat chip is a complete thermostat in hardware, reducing this 
> risk...)

Let your new thing be in addition to the conventional thermostat, 
in parallel, with the conventional thermostat being set to the 
lowest temperature that will avoid a frozen house (especially pipes). 

That way, when your experimental hardware and software messes up, 
and fails to turn on the furnace, the old conventional thermostat 
will be your backup.