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Honeywell makes a very large line of programmable electronic thermostats. At first glance, this particular thermostat has nothing to distinguish it from any other programmable tstat from your local hardware store. (7-day programming, +/1 degree accuracy, etc.) However, this thermostat has some functions that make it quite a bit better. I've had RiteTemp's and Lux tstats, and this one is much better.
Most electronic thermostats kick on the system when you are one degree under, and then run it until you are one degree over. This (and all Honeywell electronic tstats) instead target a certain number of cycles per hour (based on system type), and try and hold the temperature as constant as possible. Since I installed this a few days ago, it has not budged off of the setpoint.
Another cool feature is the recovery feature. Basically, it measures how quickly your house is losing heat (or warming up, in the summer), and kicks on the system at the correct time so it is at your setpoint right at the time you program. This eliminates guessing how long it will take your house to heat so it will be toasty when you get home at 6PM. Instead, you just set the tstat for 6PM and let it figure out the rest.
The install guide is clear and presented me with no problems. Admittedly, I don't have a complicated system (1-stage heat/cool.) It tells you how to properly wire it, and is fairly straightforward on when you need to call for help. Most folks shouldn't have any problems.
IMPORTANT: Use the included wire stickers! Some installers do not attach, say, the white wire to the "W" terminal. Depending on whim, they can completely attach the wires at random. Bad things happen if you plug the wrong wire onto the wrong terminal. If a wire was on the "W" terminal before, it needs to go on the new W terminal, even if it is bright yellow.
I didn't have any trouble at all programming this one... in a few easy steps:
1) Hit the "Schedule" button.
2) Use the arrow keys and the "select" button to select which day(s) you want to program. Hit "Next Step".
3) Use the arrow keys and "Next Step" to go through the setpoints and times.
4) Hit "Done" when finished.
If you need to set any advanced options (like changing to a two-stage furnace or A/C, setting heat pump options, etc.): Hit "System", then hold down "Fan" for five seconds. Use the table in the manual and "Next Step" to pull up the option you need to change and use the arrow keys to change it. I set up the Filter Change Reminder that way. The fact you have to refer to the manual isn't that bad since they are options you won't have to change more than once.
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I had a new Bryant small packaged system installed and decided to replace my older White-Rogers digital thermostat with Honeywell RTH7600.
Three days after the installation the thermostat is working fine. The numbers are large and clear, the programming was easy and intuitive. It is quite a bit smaller than the old White-Rogers and looks more elegant. I like that the thermostat can be taken off the wall and programmed while you sit in a chair.
I noticed a few issues, but nothing to prevent me from recommending this thermostat. These are the issues that I wanted to mention:
1. There is no back light button. For the back light to turn on, you have to touch one of the buttons on the screen. Once you do that, it activates the appropriate function (lowers temp setting, goes into fan functions, etc.) Then, you have to cancel that operation if that is not what you want. Therefore, just a simple checking of the temperature setting in the dark involves a bunch of button presses.
2. Advanced programming relies on codes. I needed to use the advance programming to set a reminder for filter replacement. The advanced functions use codes like 0120, 0170, 0300, etc. instead of words. Then, you have to select an appropriate switch for each function, e.g. "0" off, "1" 1 month filter reminder, "2" 3 months filter reminder, etc. I would prefer English words on screen rather than codes. However, codes are very clearly explained in the installation manual, so you better hold on to it if you need to use advance settings in the future.
UPDATE: It's been a year and a half since the installation and the thermostat is working fine. I decided not to do any advance settings for auto switch between the heater and A/C. It is still on it's first set of rechargeable LSD AA batteries (Sony CycleEnergy AAs). I am satisfied with this thermostat and, other than the lack of a backlight button, I do not have any concerns.
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I had bought this for use on my Carrier Heat Pump with Auxiliary heat. I had a hard time figuring out if it was compatible with this configuration but this is the unit you would want. It was only a couple of bucks more for the touchscreen so I went for it.
Amazon shipped it out to me from a warehouse that is only about 20 miles from my home in Indy and for some reason it took 10 days from the time of shipping! That was a disappointment but once I got it here it was easy to install and setup even for my complicated setup. I read some reviews that complained about the back light feature not being easy to turn on and I do agree with that problem which is the only reason for the 4-stars instead of 5. To get the back light to turn on, you have to hit a button on the screen which ends up changing something that you may not have wanted to change or gone to a menu that you did not want. What they need to do is design a button on the top of the unit (outside of the touchscreen) that you could easily find in the dark which will light up the screen.
Once installed, setting the unit up and programming the features as well as setting up the schedule and temperatures was a piece of cake. I'm not sure why others had problems I thought it was easy (although I am an engineer!). Also, I read a review that mentioned a loud "clicking" noise the unit makes when kicking on and off. I disagree with this as the standard Carrier thermostat that came with my furnace was noticeably louder than this Honeywell unit so I am pleased with that.
I would recommend this unit to anyone but just don't expect the back light feature to be useful as I still have to turn on the hall light to see what I'm doing so the feature is pretty much useless. Its easy to install, easy to operate, and should end up saving me a lot of money on my electric bill!
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About a year earlier, I purchased and installed a Lux TX9000TS Touchscreen 7-Day Programmable Thermostat. It's a good thermostat and has many similar features. My house has two zones with central heat and air conditioning, and I felt that the Honeywell was better suited to my second zone. While both are good thermostats, there are some notable differences.
Both thermostats are described in detail by their respective manufacturers, and both offer flexibility with the ability to program four temperature settings for each day of the week. Both have touch screen displays that can show comprehensive information and allow you to change settings with relative degrees of ease. Both fall short in some areas, and both exceed the other in some ways.
An important feature for any thermostat is ease of use, the ability for a user to change the temperature without reading a user manual, and the ability to program the thermostat without a confusing array of steps. Traditional thermostats have a single knob or lever that allows a user to point a line or arrow to a specific temperature. Ironically, both of these thermostats have situations where even raising or lowering the temperature by a few degrees can be a show stopper for an untrained user.
The Lux model has a clean and concise user interface. It has a pleasant looking blue LCD touch screen with larger numbers and less crowding. It has a separate button for back lighting. It displays the current temperature, and touching the temperature lets you see the set point and up and down arrows to override it. The problem with that is that despite its elegant appearance, not seeing the set temperature leaves untrained users at a loss. When I was out of town, another resident of the home had a party and nobody there could figure out how to start the air conditioning. The temperature had been left on hold. Since the button for the light is not on the touch screen itself, it's easy to miss by somebody searching the screen for it.
By contrast, the Honeywell has a busier screen with more information. It displays both the room temperature and the set temperature. The up and down arrows are always visible. Touching the screen once lights up the unit. The down side to the latter feature is that the first press of any button will not perform its function until the unit lights up. That's potentially confusing, but not a show stopper. The feature on the Lux is preferable for somebody who knows how to use it, but the Honeywell is better for typical users.
One of the reasons I bought this unit is that it works with heat and air conditioning and does not need to be switched from one to the other. As the seasons cool down, the local temperature drops down to the mid to low 50s, Fahrenheit. But I still get days when the afternoon sun will raise the temperature of some rooms to over 80 degrees. If the air conditioner is needed in the evening, the room is comfortable on its own at bed time, and the heat is needed in the morning, the Honeywell seems to make the most sense. The catch, however, it the notion of the set temperature. If you want AC to go on when the temperature is above 80 and you want heat to go on when the temperature is above 66, the thermostat can handle it fine. If the temperature is outside of that range, it's clear which set point is relevant.
UPDATE:
But if the temperature is within that range, there are two concurrent set points, but only one is shown. If the last function was heat, then the up and down arrows show the heat set point and let you change it. Likewise for AC. But if you want to change the "other" set point, (for example, you have a hot day followed by a cold night, but not cold enough for the heat to go on) the arrows alone won't help. When you press an arrow, the set point temperature will flash, and will have the word "heat" or "cool" under it. The word "system" will also flash on the bottom left corner. If you press "system" while it is flashing, it will toggle the heat/cool set points that the arrows are adjusting. That was far from obvious and the user manual didn't help. Almost all users would be at a loss to change the temperature for whichever was not the last function used.
END UPDATE.
Both thermostats work well and are generally easy to use if you read the manual. Many one-time settings for the Honeywell require cycling through cryptic code numbers and setting a value for each of them, making things easy with a manual but impossible without one. On the Honeywell, setting the year, month and date will allow the unit to know the day of the week. But the date is never displayed on the screen in general use, which raises the question of why you are not simply asked to specify the current weekday at setup time. Knowing the date allow the thermostat to keep track of daylight saving time, so it's ultimately for a purpose. But having a simple way of displaying (and changing) the date would have made sense. Setting things on the Lux is generally easier overall, but on a day to day basis, the goal is to rarely need any user interaction.
Both thermostats keep track of filter usage, but the Lux keeps track of the number of hours that the system was in use. It also give the user more information about recent energy usage in general. The Honeywell keeps track of the number of days of use between filter changes. I believe that means the number of hours/24 rather than on how many days the filter was used. Seeing a message saying "Filter usage count 288 hours" is less ambiguous than one saying "filter 12 days."
From a functional standpoint, both thermostats work well. If you've read the manuals, chances are that you will do well with either. The Honeywell has a more nicely presented professional looking manual, but it also needs one more than the Lux. Both have annoying quirks, and both have strengths over the other. In an environment with seasonal changes and big temperature swings, having a thermostat like the Honeywell can be an advantage. It has Smart Response technology to keep track of how long it takes to get the room to the set temperature so it can get there at the set time, rather than merely going on at the set time and taking however long it takes. That could be an advantage depending on how long your system takes to heat or cool, and depending on temperature range settings.
Either one of these thermostats could work quite well, but the Honeywell is theoretically closer to the ultimate goal of "set it and forget it."
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I have a heat pump system whose thermostat was original (early 80s). I changed out the old thermostat for this one in about 10 minutes. The little labels this one comes with are awesome. And the "alternative wiring" chart is really helpful since some of the wire names have changed but their function hasn't. The only thing that was a SLIGHT problem was my fault, not the products (in the advanced menu where you setup the heatpump type, I input a wrong setting. I realized it the same day and fixed what I had done) Everything works flawlessly and my system seems to be running less yet keeping the house comfortable.
