Illuminating thermostat

A thermostat for a HVAC system, comprising:

• a mode selector, disposed to select one of Heater and Cooler mode of said HVAC;
• a light sensor, disposed to sense ambient lighting;
• a temperature sensor, disposed to sense ambient temperature;
• an automatic temperature control, disposed to select one of two preferred temperatures based on said mode selector;
• an illuminating cover, disposed to partially cover said thermostat, and to provide one of a plurality of colors;
• a first amplifier, disposed to control said illuminating cover's intensity based on said mode selector, wherein red is displayed when Heater mode is selected and blue is displayed when Cooler mode is selected;
• a variable LED display, disposed to display an arrangement of said LED display;
• a second amplifier, disposed to control said variable LED display based on a difference between said ambient temperature and said preferred temperature.

A thermostat for a HVAC system, said HVAC having a heater element, a cooler element and a fan element, comprising:

• a housing, disposed to house said thermostat, said housing having a generally square-shaped bottom plate, a generally square-shaped top plate and four sidewalls between the top and bottom plates;
• a power switch, protruding from one of the sidewalls, for controlling operation of said HVAC;
• a fan switch, protruding from another one of the sidewalls, for controlling operation of said fan element of said HVAC;
• wherein said top plate of said housing further comprises:
• an illuminating cover on the outside of said top plate, disposed to display one of a plurality of colors in response to the selection of one of said heater element and said cooler element,
• said thermostat further comprising:
• a plurality of LED displays;
• a temperature sensor, disposed to detect room temperature;
• a light sensor, disposed to detect room illumination;
• a manual temperature control, disposed to set a temperature desired for said HVAC;
• a control circuit, disposed to select a preferred temperature based on selection of said heater and cooler elements;
• a compare circuit, disposed to compare said room temperature with said preferred temperature and generate a control signal, reflective of a difference between said room temperature and said preferred temperature;
• a decoder circuit, disposed to decode said control signal;
• an amplifier circuit, disposed to turn on a predetermined arrangement of said LED displays to represent said difference.