In search of a good Thermostat

Mr. Perfect

If anyone has some insight on a good thermostat they are happy with, no matter the technological level, I would appreciate it if you would share your thoughts in this thread (preferably with make/model intel). I have a single high efficiency gas furnace and single AC unit to control, so responses pared to controlling those things would be appreciated. In other words, while I'm likely at other times to be interested in how you control your wood stove, boiler, or heat pump, it's going to be unhelpful in this circumstance.

Mr. Perfect

Good intel Ken. The installation site is in a hallway so the light is not an issue for me either.

Sam06

I have a

Honeywell RTH8500D

It is hooked to the Heat pump/AC and the Gas furnace.  Operates very well and I am happy with it.

https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-RTH8500D-Touchscreen-Programmable-Thermostat/dp/B0026ES9UQ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=honeywell+t4+pro+thermostat&qid=1602186280&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExVzg1R1dVT0FRQVRFJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzA1Mjg0QkgyRzNRQlhRTkxFJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA3MzM0NDkxUTI5Qk9aUldRTDZLJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Old-Colts

In all of the homes we have owned, I've always replaced the basic thermostat with a programable Honeywell thermostat capable of setting up at least four time/temp schedules for heat and four for AC. I also like to have the capability of sensing and controlling the house Temperature from remote sensors inside our home. We are currently using a Honeywell Prestige THX9321/9421. It communicates with the Internet through a Gateway connected to my Router for monitoring and control through Apps on my iPhone and iPad when we are away from home. It also communicates with an outdoor sensor to display outdoor temperature and humidity. For heating and cooling it can be set to sense the house temperature from the Thermostat itself or from remote sensors mounted on the wall at different locations (2 in our case) or average them. It can also communicate with a portable remote sensor if I want it to sense from whatever specific location I'm in. This setup works very well for us, but I'm sure our model has been upgraded and replaced many times over! There is also a Wi-Fi model that doesn't need a Gateway, but communication with remote sensors is handled in a different way I believe.

Our current THX9321/9421 replaced our older Honeywell VisionPRO 8000, which was also a very good thermostat, we just wanted a few updated features.

Personally, I don't care to have one of the Smart Thermostats (Nest or Honeywell) that I can't set up like I've described above. Lots of folks like them, but they are not for me. Good luck on your final decision! Jack 

redneckandy

My local power company had a program where they gave Nest thermostats away. I am starting to like it. Fully program able and you can control it through your phone if you want. You might check with your provider and see if they offer something similar.

brier-49

I have a Honeywell, bimetal spring, blob of mercury in a glass tube deal. Been on the livingroom wall since the 40's, still works great.

nmyers

If you travel often or seasonly, consider a wifi enabled stat; you should be able to read the temp in the house on your smart phone, & change the set temp if needed.

Neal

Don McManus

The simpler the better, IMO.

Our winter house has a Wi-Fi programmable unit, and it is next to impossible to set manually. I like to keep my phone out of these things, and am considering replacing it with a locally programmable only model.