Industry
Energy Services
Client
Trane
Year
2021
Trane, a global leader in HVAC solutions, engaged Whipsaw to develop the next generation of home climate control. The objective was to create a modern, intuitive thermostat and ecosystem that addressed user frustrations with current solutions and delivered meaningful improvements in usability, personalization, and efficiency. This included physical hardware, a mobile app, and a system of environmental sensors.
As part of a cross-functional team of UX designers, UI designers, industrial designers, and producers, I focused on interaction design and user experience architecture to ensure a seamless and consistent experience across touchpoints.
We hosted a two-day workshop with Trane stakeholders across product and engineering teams to align on business goals, identify constraints, and define success criteria. Together, we outlined opportunity areas and focused the design process around personalization, clarity, and user empowerment.
Key questions included:
How can we expand the definition of comfort beyond temperature?
How can we support different user needs and priorities?
What features add real value in a premium HVAC system?
Research and Problem Definition
We conducted user interviews with people living in diverse housing situations to better understand how they perceived and managed comfort in their homes. The research revealed that most smart thermostats were either too basic or too complex. Features were often unused, automation failed to meet expectations, and trust in the system was low.
Users wanted simple, clear interactions and the ability to override or adjust automation as needed. Preferences for comfort extended beyond temperature to include air quality, humidity, and a general sense of control over the home environment.
From research and stakeholder input, we identified four principles to guide the design:
Smart, but Not Smarter Than Me: Automation should enhance the experience without taking full control.
Informational to Actionable: Every screen should lead to a clear next step.
Grow and Evolve: Design should adapt to user behavior and familiarity over time.
Human, Not Jargon: Interface language should be clear and approachable.
Refining the vision
We designed and prototyped experiences across all components. Initial sketches and wireframes evolved into detailed interaction flows. Particular attention was given to streamlining the onboarding process and ensuring that users could quickly achieve their most common goals, such as changing the temperature or setting a schedule.
The ecosystem included four key components:
Thermostat: The physical anchor that offers immediate, manual control.
Mobile App: Provides full access to scheduling, insights, and settings from anywhere.
Wall Controllers: Located in key areas to allow quick adjustments.
Sensors: Monitor temperature, humidity, and occupancy to inform smart decisions.
We designed onboarding around how users wanted to feel rather than just technical inputs. This improved initial engagement and helped the system start with a more accurate baseline for learning and automation.
Prototyping and Testing
We created multiple prototypes and tested them with users at various stages. Key improvements included simplifying the interface during adjustments to reduce distractions and introducing “Modes” that allowed temporary changes without needing to adjust long-term settings.
The system began suggesting schedule changes after a few weeks of use, based on observed behavior. These updates were presented as recommendations, not automatic changes, reinforcing user control.
We delivered a connected HVAC system that provided flexible control and a streamlined user experience across digital and physical interfaces. The system allowed users to control heating and cooling from the thermostat, mobile app, or wall controller. Receive guidance through onboarding and setup with simple, clear language. Make temporary changes via Modes without complex reprogramming. View insights and tips to optimize comfort and efficiency.
Final Outcome
The result was a system that balanced smart automation with manual control, making it easier for users to personalize and maintain their ideal comfort levels. The experience was consistent across devices, and designed for both quick tasks and deeper configuration.
We also delivered a comprehensive front-end design system to support implementation. This included detailed component documentation, interaction guidelines, and usage patterns to ensure consistency across platforms and streamline collaboration between design and engineering teams.
The foundational design also created future opportunities for Trane to expand functionality through voice control, ambient automation, and integrations with other smart home platforms.
