The current HVAC and FAN status is handled by the blue buttons below. What ever is in blue is the current status of the system. I don't think it is necessary to give the status in 2 places?? Am I missing something obvious?
Here's how I understand it and you tell me if I missed it.
Temperature Mode
This lets the user select the HVAC system's operating mode: HEAT only, COOL only, AUTO switching between heating and cooling, or OFF. HEAT, COOL, and AUTO, represent the
desired operating mode and not the
current operating status. In other words, they don't represent what the HVAC system is doing at this very moment.
I may have selected HEAT but if my home is not cold, the furnace won't activate so its current status is "inactive". The same holds true if I select COOL and my home is not hot so the status of the HVAC system remains "inactive". The moment the AC unit activates, AutomationBrowser's Thermostat displays a cutesy animated GIF showing falling snow. That's the true current operating status of the HVAC system; it is actively cooling the house. If I select AUTO, the current status could be heating ("HEAT"), cooling ("COOL"), or inactive (empty string). That's why my mockup display's the HVAC system's current operating status beneath the setpoint value.
Imagine using the UI remotely, decrementing the setpoint, and seeing the "COOL" and "FAN" messages appear where there was nothing but blank space. That's the satisfaction of knowing your AC unit respected your command to cool your home.
Fan Mode
I'll grant you that displaying status for this one is partially redundant. It the Fan Mode is set to ON then, well yeah, it's current status is also "on" and a separate indicator is redundant. However, if I set it to AUTO then its current status could be "on" or "off". If the furnace or AC kick in then the Fan's current status is also "on". That's the way it works in AB's Thermostat so I included it for completeness. I didn't use the word "ON" in the mockup because I'm not suggesting to display its opposite mode, "OFF". Just "FAN" is sufficient to understand the Fan is currently operating.
Thanks for being a second pair of eyes, I would have missed a lot of functionality without your help.
Whew! I was afraid I was becoming a PITA!
The attached image is what the Thermostat looks like In AutomationBrowser. I cranked up the heat to cause my furnace to activate. As a result, two animated GIFs are displayed: Dancing flames indicating the furnace is operating and whirling fan blades indicating the fan is on.