NAPERVILLE, IL — After an eleven-hour installation and configuration process spanning two weekends, Dale Huffman, 41, confirmed Monday that his newly installed smart thermostat has achieved full network connectivity, geofencing capability, and AI-assisted climate learning, while the house has remained 64 degrees since February.

Huffman, a project manager who described the installation as “straightforward,” said the device successfully synced with his phone, his wife’s phone, and a smart speaker in the kitchen. It has since sent 340 push notifications, generated four personalized energy reports, and awarded him a “Green Leaf” efficiency badge three consecutive weeks in a row. The temperature has not changed.

“It knows I wake up at 6:14,” said Huffman, wearing a fleece indoors. “It knows when we leave, when we come back, what time the kids get home from school. It just also knows it’s going to be 64 degrees and has decided that’s the right call.”

“The app says the house is comfortable. I am wearing a hat in my own kitchen. There is a gap somewhere between the data and reality.”

The device’s manufacturer, reached for comment, directed Huffman to a 47-page digital troubleshooting guide and a community forum thread from 2023 in which seventeen other users reported the same issue with no resolution marked.

Huffman’s neighbor, Craig Bellamy, 44, suggested he simply adjust the temperature manually. Huffman said he tried, but the app flagged the override as “inconsistent with your learned comfort profile” and corrected it back to 64 within the hour.

At press time, the thermostat had emailed Huffman a monthly summary praising him for saving an estimated $9 in heating costs, which he read while sitting next to the gas fireplace he never turned off.