Patent ID: 8190296

Claim:
A thermostat for controlling the application of electrical power to a heating element for controlling the ambient temperature within a space, the thermostat comprising: a housing having an interior space; a temperature sensor disposed within the interior space of the housing and configured to sense an ambient temperature; a switch disposed within the interior space of the housing and configured to apply electrical power to a heating element when the switch is activated; a heat sink associated with the switch and disposed within the interior space of the housing, the heat sink configured to dissipate heat generated by the switch; and a processor configured to determine a temperature delta value indicative of the difference between the sensed ambient temperature and a desired set point temperature, to calculate a heat dissipation offset based on an average of a predetermined number of prior calculated percentages of a finite switching time period, the heat dissipation offset associated with heat generated by the switch, and to calculate a percentage of the finite switching time period for activating the switch based on the temperature delta value and the heat dissipation offset; wherein the processor is configured to activate the switch for the calculated percentage of the finite switching time period, to thereby control the extent of electrical power applied to the heating element.