Multizone

 We had the usual start to the day, with Ellie being dropped off at about 7:15. After she had enjoyed breakfast, Grandpa had to join her upstairs to play with Peppa Pig toys until the Silver Vixen was ready to get her washed and dressed. We dropped her at school without incident.

The Silver Vixen had a day out with Cousteau-Cub scheduled. She headed off and left the Gorse Fox to his own devices. In this case they were the iMac (Condor) and Nest thermostats and Smart plugs. First on his agenda, however, was to book for the upcoming Over 65s' Lunch for the Old Columbans.

That done, the Gorse Fox delved in to the mysteries of the the Nest thermostat. He determined that he needed a multilane device - not just dual zone. He watched various videos and read what he could find. In the end, he phoned a chap that had been recommended by a neighbour because his own conclusion was that this would be an expensive change that would reap few (if any) benefits. The chat with the Nest engineer confirmed his own conclusion. For a house, like ours, with five separate thermostats and zones, this would be an extraordinary outlay and would be unlikely to break even, let alone save money. Plan B was required. The Gorse Fox is now trying to develop said plan.

While researching, the Gorse Fox saw a description that he liked. It was of "vampire devices". These are electronic devices that consume energy even when you are not using them or needing them. The Gorse Fox has a number of these devices and now that, as a rule, the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox are by ourselves, we can predict our usage of such devices. He spent some time looking for some smart, programmable plug sockets that he can set to power down when they clearly are not needed. The nice man for Amazon should bring some tomorrow and the Gorse Fox can start experimenting.

Finally, the Gorse Fox sought some further backdrops for Zoom for tomorrow's cousins' call. Several have been downloaded and he will choose in the morning.