Why do we need a learning thermostat? (Score 1)

My mother works a different shift each week (she's in retail). She doesn't want something that tries to guess when she's home (or asleep). If some enterprising Slashdotter wanted a neat project - it would be nice if there was a thermostat that works with your wireless network (wireless router) in your house that you could program via a simple internet page. You put your next 2 weeks work schedule in and voila - instant energy savings! Bonus if there is a switch to physically disable wireless access so as to help avoid hacking. Double bonus for an Android app. Then again - someone has probably already patented it... sigh.