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Comment by mexicocitinluez | Hacker News Reader

One thing people don't realize with regard to smart thermometers is that they're a goldmine to people who break into houses.

A 51 straight weeks of 70 degree temperate followed by a week > 70 might imply they're on vacation. People who turn down the heat/ac and turn it back on when they come home from work is also a pattern pretty apparent by that info.

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Couldn't they get that information by pointing a thermal camera at the house? Most windows and doors would leak enough to show this information.

Or they could watch the air conditioner fans to know if it's on.

Not having to go the house for that specific info and being able to create a shortlist of houses beforehand would be preferable I would think.

You would need an army of thieves going around and physically pointing thermometers and the ROI isn't there.

VS. just checking your computer once and going to the correct place. Heck, set up alerts and get notified where to break in next.

The odds of a house with a smart thermostat also containing cameras is pretty high, though.

This is probably true, though I think the most important part of planning a break in is just ensuring people aren't there.

Sure, there are cameras and the cops can respond and that's certainly a deterrent, but a few masks and a quick getaway renders them moot.

Instead of going around pointing thermal cameras they simply have a dashbord, by neighborhoods, property taxes, maybe even incomes and all that.

> A 51 straight weeks of 70 degree temperate followed by a week > 70 might imply they're on vacation. People who turn down the heat/ac and turn it back on when they come home from work is also a pattern pretty apparent by that info.

Yes, exactly. I made this point in my write-up: if you can a home's thermostats, you can probably figure out when people are away. https://snowpatch.org/posts/i-can-completely-control-your-sm...

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