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I bought this thermostat (four of them actually) to replace four 28-year old analog thermostats controlling the baseboard heating in a condo I bought as a second home. These digital units immediately let me set temperatures without having to guess and constantly juggle to get a proper temperature as the old non-digital thermostats required. They hold temperatures within a nice narrow range (although they can be programmed via a dip switch to let temperatures fluctuate a bit more for possible energy savings) for each room. Installation was simple (note that you do want to cap off the second set of wires if you have a 120V system -read the instructions and note how any existing thermostats are wired to make installation easy). The $2 faceplates which can be ordered separately seem to be necessary to get a finished look on the installation since the thermostats apparently do not mount flush to all boxes.
Each unit takes 2 batteries (AA) so get them before you install the unit. They recommend two major brands and no others -probably a good idea to follow that suggestion. This is not a "rechargeable battery" setup.
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I was looking for replacement digital double pole thermostats for my whole house and found that there seems to be a total of only two different digital thermostats made that work on double pole. I initially got the Honeywell for my living room, waiting to replace the rest of the house at a later time. Later I got the Lux ELV4 for the three bedrooms because of the overall price difference on three units. The things I noticed right away after installing the Lux is that the over all look of it was a lot less appealing. Not that any of these thermostats are really nice looking, but this one is just a little bigger and not as clean a design. Otherwise here are my pros and cons of this unit:Cons:
Very loud electric switch when it turns on and off. This may not seem to horrible but it's loud enough it wakes me up at night.
No backlight, makes it hard to adjust in the middle of the night without having to turn on another light.
Display is very tiny and quickly flashes between time and current temperature. No way to control if it only shows one or the other.
Requires Batteries. The Honeywell works without batteries and is able to store the programmed setting even if it looses power.
5-2 Programming Only. Ok, no other programable double pole digital thermostat does anything other then 5-2 either but would be nice if one of them did.
Pros:
Easy to install though recommend having some basic electrician tools (multi-meter or voltage tester) to ensure you know which lines are the load/power lines and correctly connect everything, especially in older homes.
Easy to program
Price.
It works well, but I guess you get what you pay for. If you really want a good unit save a few extra dollars and get the more expensive one.
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This is a great in-line thermostat. I put 5 in my house just recently and they are easy to install, easy to program and work well. Some rooms are 120V and some are 240V and this worked on both. However, I also have ONE of the more expensive kind which go for about $55. The difference is that these ELV4's have a very loud relay that clicks when engaging and disengaging. Loud enough that if you are a light sleeper, you'd be disturbed by the relay click. I (just by dumb luck) happen to have the other-brand $55-dollar version in the master bedroom and it is silent. I never hear it at all. The Lux ELV4s I have in my family room, kitchen, basement and kids' bedrooms. The clicking doesn't seem to bother the kids at night, but I definitely notice it in the family room and kitchen.The Lux is also not as attractive (or rather, more unattractive) than the other one, but none of them are nice to look at so who really cares anyway.
So, final word: Good, quality product. Handles 240 and 120 V systems. Works very well and is easy to use. Great price. Caveat: Loud relay.
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The manual states this, and the same is also printed on a sticker attached to the wiring:WARNING: THIS THERMOSTAT IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH HEATING
APPLIANCES WHICH CONTAIN BOTH AN ELECTRIC HEATING ELEMENT
(RESISTIVE LOAD) AND A BLOWER FAN (INDUCTIVE LOAD) WITHIN
THE SAME DEVICE.
I read that as not being compatible with fan forced wall/baseboard heaters. Would have been nice if they would have stated that in the product description. Lux does list this information on their product page:
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