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I received my order of 5 Honeywell TL8230A1003 Electric Heat Thermostat Line Voltage Digital 7 day programmable thermostats one week after I placed the order. The units arrived well packaged, are solidly built and are much nicer and smaller than they appear onscreen. I had a licensed electrician install all 5 a week ago, replacing my 25-year-old units. The electrician had never seen this particular thermostat before, but because of the straightforward installation guide coupled with his experience, it only took about 20 minutes to install the first unit, and about 15 for each of the remaining 4. Within minutes I had them all programmed!
The Honeywell TL8230A1003 Electric Heat Thermostat Line Voltage Digital 7 day programmable thermostats are incredibly easy to program, and have icons that correspond to different functions (i.e., comfort mode, night mode, away/vacation, manual, etc.). I consider myself to be very "tech-savvy" and don't like to read manuals if I don't have to. With this product, I was able to figure out how to use every function, with minimal time, and without having to study the instructions (which, by the way, is just a front-to-back insert). Further, because they are connected to the heating unit power supply, there are no batteries to change. The only down side to this is that in the event of a power outage, I believe all the programming will need to re-done. Still, it's a minor inconvenience.
The most wonderful thing about these thermostats is the ability to program 4 different times for each day of the week. Though they come pre-programmed, re-programming is completely customizable. For example, for Monday and Tuesday, I can set the three downstairs units to come on at 5AM, go off just before I leave home, come on again an hour before I return and go off again an hour after I go to bed. I set the living room and dining room units to only come on in the evening. For Saturday, I program a totally different set of times, and on Sunday, yet another set of times. The thermostat also has an "On/Off" switch that allows me to turn them off if I don't want the timed setting(s) to come on, as well as a "manual" function that allows me to completely override the programmed setting and increase or decrease the desired temperature. The thermostat is also EXTREMELY QUIET when switching on and off in timed modes, and has a backlighting feature accessible by a long bar-type button on the face of the unit perfect for checking temps in the dark. Each of the setting buttons is made of non-slip rubber so fingers won't accidentally slide off during programming. The buttons are small, though, and there is no backlighting for the buttons. The only caveat is to be careful not to press the "clear" button unless you actually WANT to clear a setting. This button is not in a separate area of the unit, and I inadvertently cleared one of the programmed times.
All in all, I am very satisfied with this product. What a great feeling to wake up in the morning or come home in the evening to a warm home! And the cost savings as a result of being able to use heat only when and where I need it are sure to be another benefit. I'm so pleased with these new thermostats that I've recommended them to two of my neighbors/friends, and I expect that they will purchase new sets within the next couple of weeks!
To summarize,
Pros:
Small and sleek
Easy and quick to install by licensed technician
Easy-to-understand icons
Nice "green-glow" backlight
Fully customizable programming up to 4 time settings for each day of the week
Programming buttons have non-slip surfaces
On/Off switch
Extremely quiet
No batteries to replace ever!
Cons:
No battery backup
Programming buttons are small and not backlit
"Clear" button is not in separate area of the unit
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Honeywell purchased Aube, a Canadian manufacturer of thermostats and heating/cooling products, several years ago. This thermostat is a rebranded and upgraded version of one of Aube's products.I purchased seven of them when we moved into our home in 2003. The installation was truly easy, and I found the programming intuitive. There are some shortcuts built into the programming: for example, if you want the heat to come up at the same time every morning, hold down the "DAY" button and after a few moments you will see all seven days indicated on the screen. Individual alterations per day can be made afterward.
The "adaptive start time" feature means that the thermostat records how long it took to reach its setpoint--if it failed to reach it by the programmed time it starts a little earlier the next time. If it overshot, it will start a little later next time. That makes your living space comfortable at the times you use it, and in practice we just expect the room will be heated when we enter it.
REVISION: It was called to my attention that this thermostat does not drop voltage to the heater in any way. I have revised this paragraph to reflect what I learned from Aube-Honeywell technical support:
The feature that really saves energy is "Proportional Integral Adaptive" control (or "PIA"). Old thermo-couple thermometers are either "on" or "off." Even with various mechanical controls built in, they can't keep the room any closer than 2 degrees warmer or cooler than the temperature you set. This thermostat, by contrast, can "throttle back" the energy going to the baseboard as it approaches the setpoint. It does so by energizing the heater for fractions of a 15 minute interval, rather than simply running until the setpoint is reached. In practical terms, your electric meter spins less often, and the room eases in to the temperature you wanted. A minor drop in temperature results in a "nudge" from the thermostat rather than a full-blast energy assault that's guaranteed to go past the setpoint again.
This thermostat adds on-demand backlighting, which we would have wanted, but otherwise appears identical to the old "TH" model that we have. We've saved (and I've counted) several thousand dollars since we installed these, and I recommend them highly.
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My entire home is 240 volt baseboard heat. I have a thermostat in every room and one in the upstairs hallway (10 zones total) When I purchased the house The original thermostats from the 70's were still there! They were awful no longer accurate and eating electricity since the elements came on full blast whenever the heat kicked on. So far I have bought 5 of these Honeywell thermostats over the past 2 months and installed them in my kitchen, living room and all the upstairs bedrooms. It's nice to be able to program them and forget them. No running around the house trying to remember to turn thermostats on or off. And When they do come on, since the thermostat regulates the amount of power to the elements they don't always come on full blast especially if its just kicking on to maintain temperature. I cant see how this won't save me money in the long run! Eventually I plan on replacing the remaining 5 all with this model. I tossed the idea around of getting the non programmable models for the bathrooms and hallway but for a couple of bucks more you get more features. With the price of gas and oil going up I'm actually doing pretty well with electric heat especially now that I have these new thermostats.As for the unit itself It easy to install and program and looks very nice on the wall. If your skittish about replacing your old thermostat wire for wire then have an electrician do it. My wiring was very easy to figure out, but I can't guarantee yours will be.
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I purchased this thermostat to control a Cadet 63314 heater I installed in a cold bathroom in our house. I wanted a programmable unit because, being a bathroom, I didn't need the room to be a constant temperature all day... I wanted it warm in the morning when I got up, and again at night when getting ready for bed. Also, I didn't want the electric bill running up to heat a room I wasn't in for several hours a day.This is the only programmable line voltage unit I could find, and is does an excellent job. Multiple settings through the day to manage the room temp. for when you want it, and day of the week settings to allow your days to be set differently. Also has a vacation button that you can set for a different temp., without changing any other programming.
Programming was easy, though you will need to refer to the instructions because of the number of options on settings. The preset programming is very good though, so you may not need to adjust anything other than the time and day.
The hardest part of the install was running the wiring. Since this is a line voltage thermostat, you will need to run 240v power to it, then away from it to the heater, which can be a lot of work if you are doing it in a finished room, as I was.
This has made a huge difference in the comfort of the bathroom it was installed in, and I recommend it for anyone who might have, or is installing, a baseboard heater. The electrical savings, plus comfort, made this a big winner for me.
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