HVAC Desperately Needs Steve Jobs

Wellness

Why oh why are boiler controls universally horrible in this high tech age?



For instance professionals and DIYs alike have been complaining about the location of the LED indicator lights on TACO zone valve and pump controls for years, and, yet, they remain on the side of the panel where you can hardly see them.



I recall some Canadian company briefly offered a competing control with indicator lights on the front but that panel was so small and made of 100% plastic, that no self-respecting professional would buy it.



My latest frustration with a boiler control involves the Honeywell AQ25144B, an impressive red and black colored high-tech control with an LED display that turned out to be a waste of money. How Honeywell managed to make a control with volatile memory is beyond me. Volatile memory means when you shut the power off, like, say during the summer when you don't need a boiler or if a thunderstorm or ice storm cuts power, all your carefully arranged setpoints and other settings are lost. How about that for guaranteed callbacks from customers.



On to Tekmar I guess...