Thermostat user interface

A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) control system comprising:

• a thermostat comprising:
• a housing having an electronic display disposed thereon;
• a rotatable user-interface component configured to track a rotational input motion of a user;
• and
• control circuitry that enables the thermostat to be accessible for remote control across a network;
• and
• a processing system communicatively coupled to the rotatable user interface component and to the electronic display of said thermostat, said processing system being configured to identify a setpoint temperature value based on a tracked rotational input motion of said rotatable user interface, said processing system being in operative communication with one or more temperature sensors for receiving an ambient air temperature and in operative communication with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to control the HVAC system based at least in part on a comparison of the measured ambient temperature and the setpoint temperature value;
• wherein said processing system, said electronic display, and said rotatable user interface component are collectively configured such that each of a first mode of operation and a second mode of operation is provided, said first and second modes of operation being in effect at different times;
• wherein, during said first mode of operation, information is displayed on said electronic display that is representative of said setpoint temperature value as identified by said processing system according to said tracked rotational input motion of the user;
• wherein, during said second mode of operation, an arrangement of selectable menu items is displayed on said electronic display that are selectable by one or more tracked rotational input motions of the user and one or more user confirmation inputs;
• and
• wherein said processing system is in operative communication with a remote control device to provide an interface that enables control of said setpoint temperature value according to information received from the remote control device representative of temperature adjustment commands of the user.

A method for control of an HVAC system by a thermostat, the thermostat comprising a housing, a rotatable user-interface component, a processing system, an electronic display, and control circuitry that enables the thermostat to be accessible over a network and controlled via a remote control device, said thermostat having first and second modes of operation that are in effect at different times, the method comprising:

• detecting and tracking rotational movements of the rotatable user-interface component to track at least one rotational input motion of a user;
• identifying a setpoint temperature value based on the tracked rotational input motion;
• receiving, from one or more temperature sensors, an ambient air temperature;
• controlling the HVAC system based at least in part on a comparison between the ambient air temperature and the setpoint temperature value;
• displaying, on the electronic display, information that is representative of the identified setpoint temperature value when the thermostat is operating in the first mode of operation;
• displaying an arrangement of selectable menu items on the electronic display when the thermostat is operating in the second mode of operation;
• receiving a selection of a selectable menu item based upon one or more tracked rotational input motions of the user and one or more user confirmation inputs;
• receiving information over the network and from the remote control device via the control circuitry representative of a temperature adjustment command of the user;
• and
• adjusting said setpoint temperature value according to said information received from the remote control device.