Thermostat with power stealing delay interval at transitions between power stealing states

A thermostat, comprising:

• at least one HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) wire connector configured to receive at least one HVAC wire including at least one call relay wire;
• a powering circuit, including a rechargeable battery, that is coupled to the at least one call relay wire and configured to provide electrical power to the thermostat by power stealing therefrom, said power stealing including an active power stealing mode in which power is taken from said at least one call relay wire while the thermostat is in a first operating mode in which the thermostat is actively calling for an HVAC function and an inactive power stealing mode in which power is taken from the at least one call relay wire while the thermostat is in a second operating mode in which the thermostat is not actively calling for the HVAC function;
• wherein said powering circuit is configured to substantially suspend said power stealing for a first time interval immediately following each transition from one of said first or second operating modes to the other of said first or second operating modes, wherein said first time interval is at least 5 seconds;
• and
• wherein said powering circuit provides said electrical power to the thermostat during said times of substantially suspended power stealing at least in part by drawing power from said rechargeable battery.

A method of powering a thermostat coupled to an HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system, the method comprising:

• receiving at least one HVAC wire including at least one call relay wire;
• providing electrical power to the thermostat by power stealing from said at least one call relay wire, said power stealing including an active power stealing mode in which power is taken from said at least one call relay wire while the thermostat is in a first operating mode in which the thermostat is actively calling for an HVAC function and an inactive power stealing mode in which power is taken from the at least one call relay wire while the thermostat is in a second operating mode in which the thermostat is not actively calling for the HVAC function;
• substantially suspending said power stealing for at least a first time interval immediately following each transition from one of said first or second operating modes to the other of said first or second operating modes, said first time interval being sufficiently long to ensure an absence of transient signals that could lead to undesired call relay tripping or untripping;
• and
• providing said electrical power to the thermostat during said times of substantially suspended power stealing at least in part by drawing power from a rechargeable battery of the thermostat.