Saturday, October 11, 2014

Cheap Honeywell RTC8102A1016 5-1-1-Day Programmable Thermostat w/Backlit

Honeywell RTC8102A1016 5-1-1-Day Programmable Thermostat w/Backlit Display
Customer Ratings: 4.5 stars
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I bought this thermostat when my kids were still infants. I needed it because they would take naps during the day and they perspire a lot while sleeping. So I bought this thermostat so that the AC would turn on during their nap time and when it is hottest during the day.

I bought it because I've read reviews from other sites and how people said it was easy to install. I was a little apprehensive because I've never really installed anything like this, but the instructions were easy to read and understand and Honeywell have great customer service! I called customer service because I had one wire in the wall that wasn't the same color as the manual has decribed, but the Honeywell customer rep was able to help me figure it out. I had it installed in about 10 minutes and my AC was working as planned.

There's a backup battery you have to put in and it still works after 2 years. Other people have complained that the back-lit green light go off too soon, around five seconds after your last tap on the touchscreen, but it doesn't really bother me unless you need to change schedule in complete darkness.

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I'd been contemplating a new thermostat for a while, wanted one that would let me set a schedule so I could have it warm up a little in the morning, cool down automatically at night, so if I was coming home late things would still be comfortable.

When I saw this on a lightning deal, I decided to go for it, and I'd overcome my fears of installing it once it showed up.

Got it this morning, decided I had time before going to work, so I opened it up and started.

SUPER easy installation, at least for my setup (4 wires, they were labeled correctly on the old thermostat, so that helped)

Took maybe 10 minutes, 5 of that was because the wires were stiff trying to get them into the small holes and tighten them down. Once it was installed, turned the furnace back on, got to work programming (somewhat)

There is a bit of a learning curve to this, I'll try to update my review once I'm more familiar, but so far it works like a champ. Love the touchscreen on it, its a good size too.

Took a few minutes to get a basic schedule in the system, then get it going starting to cool down the house. Overall, I'm very happy.

Yes, I'm aware this review has a cheesy title, I couldn't think up anything else to put for a title.

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I bought this to replace my non-touch screen Honeywell that was only programmable for the week days and weekends. All week days were lumped together and the weekend was lumped together. I wanted to have a little more flexibility.

Installing was not too difficult, took me about 15-20 minutes to take down the old and put up the new.

The touch screen part is only limited to the locations on the screen where there are indicators like the up down arrows and the options at the bottom.

When programming you have the option to select multiple days at a time so if you have the same schedule like mon thurs or something you can program them all at once. Saves some time in having to do each day separately.

I found out by the model number that this model is somehow related to Costco. This was a black Friday deal through Amazon, so I got for a good price.

So far, it has been working great.

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I got this on a Gold Box deal and now wish I had bought another for my upstairs unit. It was very easy, however you need a small flat blade screw driver. The package includes detailed instructions, code stickers for the wiring, and a clear users guide. It does require 2 "AA" batteries. This thermostat replaces a less expensive Honeywell that never really kept an accurate temperature. The programming is simple, just follow the instructions. If there was one thing I would add to this thermostat it would be a way to copy programs to other days. It isn't hard to program, just redundent.

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It's ALL about the DISPLAY!!

Let's get this out of the way first, this thermostat isn't about revolutionary features; it's all about the size of the display.

My old Ritetemp model 8022C (no longer manufactured) is well over a decade old and it still had all of the features of the new Honeywell including four settings per day, seven day programs, and even a filter change reminder. And the Ritetemp worked well too ... even after a dozen years of service. But over the years the display has gotten smaller and smaller (or perhaps my eyes have gotten a bit worse) either way, I had a tough time reading the 0.5" x 1.5" display unless I was right up on it (and maybe with a flashlight).

So my search was for a larger and easier read display.

The RTC8101A (formerly RTH7600D)really fit the bill. The whole front of the thermostat is one big display. It almost looks like a GPS mounted on the wall ... touch screen and all. The unit constantly displays current temperature, set temperature, day, time, heat/cool, and fan setting. Just touch the display to backlight it. Believe it or not, I can actually read it from my chair!

Installation was a cinch ... complete with a quick start guide. And the wire connections were easy. My old Ritetemp required wrapping each wire around the appropriate (incredibly small) screw and then tightening, a tedious process that required some dexterity with small screws. The new Honeywell has pinch connectors which only required inserting a straight stripped wire end into the hole and tightening the screw. Far Far easier. The installation took fifteen minutes from package opening to programming. Don't forget that you will need two AA batteries and a small flathead screwdriver.

So will this thermostat change your life? Well ... if you already have a working auto setback thermostat, then you likely won't see any unexpected features here. If you don't already have an auto setback thermostat then, welcome to the 21st century.

But the display ... THE DISPLAY ... It's really worth the price of admission (and five stars).

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