Patent ID: 7436296

Claim:
A system for managing a remotely located environmental control unit, comprising: administration tool program code stored in a computer readable medium, wherein said administration tool program code is operable to generate a user interface displaying a list of selectable living environment device representations, wherein each of said selectable living environment device representations corresponds to a type of living environment device that can be controlled through said remotely located environmental control unit, and wherein said user interface further displays a representation of a current configuration of said remotely located environmental control unit, and wherein said user interface enables a user to move said selectable living environment device representations into said representation of said current configuration of said remotely located environmental control unit; and wherein said administration tool program code is further operable, in response to detecting said user moving one of said selectable living environment device representations into said representation of said current configuration of said remotely located environmental control unit, to send a command message over a computer network to said remotely located environmental control unit, said command message indicating that said remotely located environmental control unit should perform at least one operation to allow a user to control a living environment device of said type corresponding to said one of said living environment device representations moved into said representation of said current configuration of said remotely located environmental control unit.