Thermostat with downcast light

1. A device, comprising:

a processor and memory configured to automatically control a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system;

a housing having a wall-facing side configured to mount to a wall, a user-facing side positioned opposite the wall-facing side, and a floor-facing side extending between the wall-facing side and the user-facing side; and

a visual indicator positioned in an interior portion of the housing adjacent to the floor-facing side and configured to output a visual indication, the visual indication having a set of characteristics including a first characteristic that is modified based at least in part on a mode of operation of the device and a second characteristic that is modified based at least in part on a duration satisfying a time threshold since a climate control system associated with the mode of operation began, wherein the visual indicator projects the visual indication through an aperture of the floor-facing side onto a portion of the wall below the floor-facing side of the housing, and wherein the set of characteristics include a flash rate, a flash pattern, a brightness associated with flashing, a color, a periodicity, or any combination thereof.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the housing defines an axis extending orthogonal to the wall-facing side, the visual indicator defines a center beam axis indicative of a center point of the visual indication output by the visual indicator, and the visual indicator is positioned such that the center beam axis forms an acute angle with the axis.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the visual indication is a beam formed by the visual indicator having a beam width in a first direction and a beam height in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the beam width being larger than the beam height.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the housing defines a first dimension in a first direction and a second dimension in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction; and

the visual indication defines a third dimension in the first direction and a fourth dimension in the second direction, the fourth dimension being less than the second dimension.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the visual indication extends downwardly away from a bottom edge of the housing.

6. The device of claim 1 , further comprising:

a user interface configured to receive commands regarding a temperature set point and the mode of operation of the device.

7. The device of claim 1 , further comprising:

a temperature sensor configured to identify a current temperature of a space associated with the device.

8. The device of claim 1 , further comprising:

a communication system configured to communicate visual indication data with a security and automation system.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to operate according to the mode of operation, the mode of operation including a heating mode, a cooling mode, or a combination thereof.

10. The device of claim 1 , wherein the visual indication is based at least in part on the mode of operation.

11. The device of claim 1 , wherein the visual indication is configured to oscillate between a first output state and a second output state, the first output state being brighter than the second output state.

12. The device of claim 1 , wherein the visual indication is based at least in part on an occupancy parameter.

13. A method for indicating an operating mode of a device, comprising:

identifying a mode of operation of the device configured to automatically control a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system;

outputting a visual indication through an aperture of the device, the visual indication having a set of characteristics including a first characteristic that is modified based at least in part on the identified mode of operation and a second characteristic that is modified based at least in part on a duration satisfying a time threshold since a climate control system associated with the mode of operation began, wherein the set of characteristics include a flash rate, a flash pattern, a brightness associated with flashing, a color, a periodicity, or any combination thereof;

detecting an occupancy parameter of a space associated with the device; and

ceasing to output the visual indication based at least in part on the occupancy parameter.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

periodically receiving sensor data associated with the space from one or more sensors, wherein detecting the occupancy parameter is based at least in part on the sensor data received from the one or more sensors.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the sensor data comprises at least one of camera data, motion sensor data, light detector data, audio data, radio frequency communication signal data, or a combination thereof.

16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

modifying the mode of operation of the device from a first mode of operation to a second mode of operation based at least in part on the occupancy parameter.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

detecting that the space is unoccupied based at least in part on the occupancy parameter, wherein modifying the mode of operation of the device from the first mode of operation to the second mode of operation comprises switching the device from an active mode of operation to an inactive mode of operation.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

detecting that the space is occupied based at least in part on the occupancy parameter, wherein modifying the mode of operation of the device from the first mode of operation to the second mode of operation comprises switching the device from an inactive mode of operation to an active mode of operation.

19. An apparatus for indicating an operating mode of a device, in a system comprising:

a processor;

memory in electronic communication with the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory and operable, when executed by the processor, to cause the apparatus to:

identify a mode of operation of the device configured to automatically control a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system;

output a visual indication through an aperture of the device, the visual indication having a set of characteristics including a first characteristic that is modified based at least in part on the identified mode of operation and a second characteristic that is modified based at least in part on a duration satisfying a time threshold since a climate control system associated with the mode of operation began, wherein the set of characteristics include a flash rate, a flash pattern, a brightness associated with flashing, a color, a periodicity, or any combination thereof;

detect an occupancy parameter of a space associated with the device; and

cease to output the visual indication based at least in part on the occupancy parameter.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to:

receive sensor data for a threshold period of time from one or more sensors, wherein detecting the occupancy parameter is based at least in part on the sensor data received from the one or more sensors.