Focuspro 5000 Non-Programmable Thermostat Review

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I installed a programmable Honeywell RTH7600D thermostat in the home of my parents (who are in their late 70s) to replace an old mercury switch thermostat. It worked great, but then I started to worry about what would happen if the programming got screwed up by accident. It seemed unlikely that my parents would be able to wade through the instruction booklet, and the thermostat wasn't intuitive enough for me to talk them through it on the phone. And besides, my parents had been in the habit of adjusting the thermostat at wake-up time and at bed time for most of their lives, so the programming feature was kind of overkill for them.

As a replacement, I picked the Honeywell FocusPro 5000, and everybody has been thrilled with it. It has only 4 buttons whose functions are completely obvious (temp up, temp down, fan auto/on, and heat/cool/off). The only time you need the instructions is during initial set-up so the thermostat knows what kind of system it's controlling, but once that's over with, the instructions can go in the drawer.

This thermostat does NOT require batteries, unless it's hooked to a system that lacks a "common" or "C" wire. Most systems installed in the past 20 years have a 24 volt common wire terminal on them, in which case batteries aren't required as the thermostat takes power from the HVAC system itself. It's possible that some systems that have a 24 volt common capability didn't have it hooked up because many older thermostats didn't need 24 volt power, but if that's the case, it's pretty easy to make the connection at the furnace or air handler (turn off the power first!) and then make the connection at the other end on the thermostat using one of what are probably several spare wires tucked back into the wall behind the old thermostat.

The FocusPro 5000 has a huge display that even the most visually impaired person can read easily, day or night. The back light is strong and comes on for about 8 seconds once you press the temp up or temp down button. Digits and letters are dark and bold. Temperature control is precise. Yes, there is a soft click when the relays turn the fan or compressor on, but it's only minimally annoying, and I don't know how it might be avoided (unless you go back to a thermostat with a mercury switch).

My only word of caution: if you have a heat pump system that includes auxiliary or emergency heat (i.e. an electric heating coil in the air handler) then you'll need to order a FocusPro 5000 model that can handle TWO heating zones (such as the FocusPro 5000 TH5220D1029), as auxiliary or emergency heat is considered a discrete zone that a 1 heat/1 cool thermostat won't be able to manage.

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This has changed our life. It is easy to install and easy to use. No more trying to figure out what temp to keep the house, it does it on its own. You just set a high and a low and it kicks on the heat or the AC. I haven't touched the thermostat since I installed it and the house has been at an even temp, night and day.

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I am a Design/Builder in NC and have tried multiple models of Energy Star Thermostats on my homes. They have been a real pain in the arse ( to say the least!)to figure out. Plus my customers call me back and ask me to switch them to the regular Thermostat because they too can't figure out the programming.

This is the simple way to save on power bills and Thermostat abuse! It has a security code which allows you to limit the temperature ranges!!!! This means the end of Thermostat abuse for the person who pays the power bills.

We set ours to a maximum temperature of 72 for Heat in the Winter, and a maximum Cool of 76 in the Summer. This will save Us plenty. Children, Students, Grandparentas, Office Workers, House Guests and Gremlins won't be able to abuse our Precious Resources nearly as much with these Simple Instruments!!!!

Lower your Carbon Footprint today and get the right model for your home, office or business. IF you must use an Emergency Heat Strip , I believe you'll need to get a different model. I don't use our Heat Strip and that saves on power bills as well!

Plus the Folks at Honeywell have good Technical Support. If you aren't a mechanic, buy the right model and have a pro install them. The wiring can be tricky.

Honest reviews on Focuspro 5000 Non-Programmable Thermostat

This unit was installed with a new air handler about a week ago. Its simple and intuitive enough to operate without using the instruction manual. No programming functions are available. The screen is bright and the text is easy enough to read. Id prefer if all of the text was a bit darker to provide a bit more contrast and make it easier to read but it isn't an issue the way it is.

The only real benefit of this unit over a conventional mercury switch thermostats is that it can maintain temperature to a very specific temperature which so far seems that the AC is cycling less than it used to. I can't give this unit all of the credit however, as the new air handler is more efficient than the one it replaced.

You have to use batteries to power the unit. Being new I don't know what the battery life will be yet but I see this as a negative over an "old" style conventional thermostat.

The only other complaint I have about this unit is that there is a clearly audible click as the unit cycles on or off.

In general I wouldn't spend the money to upgrade to this unit from a conventional thermostat unless you do it as part of an overall HVAC system upgrade.

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Let's be frank...for the most of us, we don't really need a $200-300 thermostat that can bake you a cake while telling you how hot or cold it is in your house. Yup...some of these fancy thermostats are super cool to have, but may not be the greatest thing in the world for people like...my parents.

I purchased this thermostat to replace an older thermostat that stopped working correctly (and was never used correctly). It had the whole 7 day programmable thing going on with Away, Day, Night, Sleep, etc. cycles. My folks just wanted a simple thermostat that they could turn on when needed, set to the temp they wanted, and not think too much about how to set their home to the right temperature. This thermostat works perfectly for them and they love it!

Only thing of concern...in the photos, the display looks darn right humongous. I thought to myself, wow...this will be great for my mom whose vision has slid over the years. In reality, the display is pretty small. The dimensions of the unit are listed on the Amazon site and I didn't take the time to figure out how big this unit really is. It's not that big. So if you're buying this primarily for the HUGE display...just know...it's not that huge. I'm taking away one star for that fact, because the product description states: "Easy-to see and read; large, clear backlit digital display"...but it isn't really all that large.