Side by Side Comparison of: Honeywell vs Lux

Normal price for this thermostat is 179 shipped. I got it in "like new" condition for 91.48 shipped. I love the fact you control everything remotely from a PC, tablet, or smartphone. These are so much easier to program on a computer rather than fuddling around with it on a tiny screen. Custom colors on the unit are also an option. The install was super easy too and it comes with wire labels so you can install a wire label as you remove each wire from your existing thermostat. Easy peasy!

I love this thermostat!

Very happy with these thermostats. We like everything about them more than the Nest. It looks better, the app is better, they work better.

We had problems with the Nest from the start. It kept turning on our Central Air for several minutes at a time...when it was 50 degrees outside and the AC was turned off. We had to turn the AC off from the circuit breaker to make it stop turning on. The Customer Support from Nest was OUTSTANDING, they really tried to figure out why it wasn't working at our home (over the course of a few months). They sent us replacement units and even paid for an electrician to try and get them to work properly; no luck. We finally gave up and returned the Nest and bought the Honeywell; we're very happy we did.

The Honeywell's look great, they are wider than the Nest but aren't as deep as the Nest. We like the look of them more than the Nests. We like that it's very easy to see what the current temp is in the room as well as what it's set to (something that isn't as easy on the Nest).

The Honeywell's app is MUCH better than Nest's. Very easy to use, easy to see what the temp is set to as well as what it is in the home. Like that you can see the current outside temperature at the home as well as get a 5 day weather forecast right inside the app.

One HUGE (for us) advantage Honeywell has over Nest is the ability to "Hold" a temperature. Let's say you're having people over and your Nest has "learned' to automatically sets the temperature to 65 degrees from 70 degrees at 9:30 PM. You can't tell the Nest to "Hold" the temperature at 70 (overriding the learned program). With the Honeywell there is a "Hold" button that you can use to keep the temperature set until you decide to change it. With the Nest you have to remember to turn the heat back to 70 at 9:31 or you and your guests will get chilly :-).

I'm so glad we had all the problems with the Nest because we like the Honeywell much, much better. It was easy to install, and has worked great for us. Because there's more "real estate" on the display (compared to the Nest) it's easier to read, program, and use. Changing the color of the display is easy (our upstairs unit has a different color than our downstairs unit, great you can change it to match the room). The back-light can be dimmed when not in use, and we like the thermostats displays the outdoor temperature.

For us the Honeywell is better than the Nest in every way...it's not even close. Even if the Nest had worked at our house, now that we've been using the Honeywell unit I'd buy it over the Nest.

I've been using these for about six months now and am very happy with them (I bought the 2-pack for upstairs/downstairs). Features I like:
- The display is easy to read at night and it's easy to adjust the temperature and temporarily override the schedule.
- My wife was able to set the screen to colors that she liked.
- I like being able to adjust the temps using my phone, and also seeing what the temp is in the house while I'm away.
- The scheduling is flexible enough to meet our needs for days of the week, etc.
- I like getting notified when they lose network connection.

A couple things I don't like:
- The display isn't very touch sensitive so you sometimes have to press more than once (sort of like GPS screens for me)
- Sporadically, usually in the wee hours, one or both will lose their connection "to the network." Since my network is okay I assume it's a server glitch. It has gotten better lately, though.

Overall, I'm glad I installed them and wish they'd been available years ago.

The Honeywell wifi smart thermostat is quite possibly my favorite product I have ever purchased! We have been dealing with our old, unreliable thermostat for years. Finally I decided to invest in these beauties! Am I ever glad we did! Where we live we have time of use electric meters. I love being able to program our thermostats to be colder when it is cheaper to use electricity and let them not run when it is more expensive. After 2 months I have already paid for the thermostats from the amount saved on my electric bill! They were easy to install too! Plus, finding a two pack was an awesome savings too. I needed 2 so a 2 pack made me happy!

Wanted to wait a little while until I posted this review. After being installed for a couple of months definitely worth the money. I have two units in my home and was having problems with constant running and building that electric bill. After installation and setting a schedule a drastic change in the electric bill was noticed. Installation was really simple and straight forward (this will all depend on the unit that you have and its control leads). It is easy to use and easy to setup. All I did was go through the easy installation wizard on the thermostat, connected it to my WiFi and did most of the configuration from the website after registering it. The app is great if you are in need of changing the temperature when you are not home. In my case I run the thermostats on a schedule and don't use the app. Keep in mind this is a small thermostat so when you install it you may find the paint on the walls is a different color than under your old thermostat. It is a great product and recommend it to anyone that is looking for a new thermostat.

Works well on my HVAC unit with emergency heat. Not all the features of my old thermostat (I wish it would switch from heating to cooling on it's own and would automatically switch to emergency heat if needed) but an affordable and quality item. The wiring for my old thermostat was not the same as any in the instructions. I just took a guess but before turning on I decided to call customer service. I don't think they had experience with the way my other thermostat was wired and they put me on hold for a bit. They confirmed that I had guessed correctly and I was set to go. I liked the fact that while it's physical size was smaller than my old thermostat, there was more room to accommodate the wires, so I could leave some extra wire in the case instead of having to push it all back into the wall.

I purchased this thermostat mainly for a specific feature that my old thermostat didn't have...the temperature swing setting. The old one was locked in at plus or minus 0.5 degrees. This was a problem because I discovered my air conditioner unit was oversized, so this plus the 0.5 degree swing setting was causing my AC unit to have short run times. This caused both inefficient compressor operation and humidity removal. After installing the the new Lux thermostat, I set the swing value to 5 (1.25 degrees), and my run times went from 5 minutes to a minimum of 10. I'm very happy with the results, and the cost was well worth it as I'm using less overall power for the same amount of cooling. Another thing I find very useful on the thermostat is the energy usage feature...It keeps track of the time the unit is on for the current day, previous day and total time since reset. This helps me keep track of my energy usage so I'm not surprised when I get my electric bill. I didn't have any issues installing or programing it. The instructions that came with it plus the ones I downloaded from the web were easy to understand.

I've owned Lux programmable thermostats for over 20 years and have 4 of them in my house currently. The back light stopped working on a 10 year old unit in my bedroom, so i decided to purchase this unit. Installation was extremely easy, uses the same mounting holes, but is considerable smaller than my old unit. This left me with an unpainted portion on my wall, which either needed to be painted or purchase the larger back plate. I choose to paint, which took all of 5 minutes. I read the instructions, downloaded the full user manual which was I read fully. The unit is extremely intuitive and, in the end, was a waste of my time to download and print the entire manual. The only setting that I changed was the recovery delay from 5 minutes to 2 minutes, which is done with a din switch on the back of the unit. Although we have only had this installed a few days now, we like it. The numbers a large enough to read without glasses, bright enough to see until it's dark and touching the unit anywhere lights it up for 10 seconds. Temporarily override and hold functions work the same as the older units, but are much easier to access. Finally, most utility companies are offering $25 back on the purchase of programmable thermostats and $100 back on WiFi enabled units. If this unit last as long as my others have, I'll be extremely pleased.

My thermostat konked out on me and I am a wanna be do it yourself-er widow. So I watched you tube video on how to install a new thermostat. Looked pretty straight forward. So I bought this one, best buy, good price, big numbers for my old eyes, simple to program. So I'm all nervous about installing it. Got the power turned off on the furnace/AC at the circuit breaker. Then got the cover off. OMG those wires and screws are tiny!!!
Got all the wires labeled. (Stickers Provided) Took off the old mounting bracket. Installed the new one. (Sheetrock anchors provided too.) Got the tiny tiny wires and the tiny tiny screws (apparently they are all that way) in the right slots. Put in the batteries, programmed it (simple) snapped it on the mounting bracket. Turned on the power and PRAISE THE LORD it works!!! Girls ROCK!!! I was so jazzed. It really was pretty easy to install, I just was so outside my comfort zone. So ladies this is the one for you!!

Forward:This is more than a review and experiences with the Lux Products TX9600TS. It includes what was important to me when looking for a new thermostat, the short list of the others I researched, and why I chose this model. The reason for replacing my previous thermostat, a Honeywell T87 style mercury type thermostat, was because it would run for a short period of time, stop, then restart again. The T87 worked fine with the forced air furnace we had several years ago, but ever since we upgraded to a 93% condensing furnace, it cycled so frequently that register air didn't have time to warm up adequately. We have a standing joke around here. "We have a furnace that heats with cold air."So why do people have rapid, short cycling problems like this after upgrading from say forced air to high-efficiency condensing furnaces in cold climates? My theory is it might stem from the differences in their their sequence of operation.A. Forced Air furnaces, i.e. 80% and less. 1 Thermostat calls for heat. 2. Burner starts. 3. Circulation fan starts after the air from the heat exchanger reaches 120-140 degrees. 4. Heats house. 5. Thermostat stops giving the call for heat. 6. Burner shuts off. 7. Circulation blower continues to circulate air until the air coming out of the heat exchange cools to 85 to 100 degrees so there is never any cold air exiting the register.B. High Efficiency Condensing Furnaces, i.e. 90% plus. 1. Call for heat. 2. Draft motor starts and pulls in cold air from outside. 3. As soon as furnace detects draft, it starts the hot surface igniter. 4. At the 30 second point, the gas valve opens. Flame detector must see flame within 2-3 seconds. 5. Circulation blower turns on, no matter what temperature the heat exchanger is. 6. Heats house. 7. Call for heat from thermostat ceases. 8. Gas valve is turned off. 9. The draft motor continues to pull in wicked cold air through the heat exchanger for the next 30 seconds, while the circulation blower blows air across the now wicked cold heat exchanger. 10. Thermostat senses the cold air, and starts a new cycle with a call for heat 25 seconds after the circulation fan stops from the previous cycle.Establishing my requirements:As our climate changes and we edge closer to the next ice age, winters have been getting colder, and things were getting a little out of hand this winter, so I decided it was time to get a thermostat with some control. There was no requirement for a programmable thermostat, but my requirements were:1. One I can control the temperature between the cut in and cut out time. That means I have to be able to understand HOW it decides to turn on and off so the I can determine if it meets that requirement.2. Doesn't require a degree in computer mysteries to use.3. Doesn't rely on batteries.4. Sensible price, which to me means less than $100. I had some fun looking at the NEST, Ecobee, and Prestige, but they were never contenders..The Short List:My first problem was to determine which products within the price range didn't require a battery for operation. That eliminated all of the digital, non-programmables. I came up with the following list:Honeywell RTH7500D Conventional 7-Day Programmable Thermostat $59.95Honeywell RTH7600D Touchscreen 7-Day Programmable Thermostat (Touch screen version) $79.95Lux Products TX500U Smart Temp Programmable Thermostat 5-2 Programming $37.97Lux Products TX1500U Smart Temp Programmable Thermostat 5-1-1 Programming $39.97Lux Products TX9600TS Touch Screen 7 Day Programmable 7-Day Programming Thermostat $63.67Researching and Reading the Documentation:I studied the manuals, and called and e-mailed both Honeywell and Lux Products. Both were very responsive, English was their first language, and they were knowledgeable.Contacting Lux:I sent LUX an E-Mail one night with several questions about the 3 different models I was looking at. The following morning I received a call. It was a very good conversation. During the conversation I mentioned how I like the ability to adjust the sensitivity on with what they term as swing. He was quick to point out that the TX500U and TX1500U current versions had removed swing. They have an a and b suffix.on them when you open the package, E.G.TX500Ua, TX1500Ua, and a different manual, even though the packaging and marketing still shows TX500U, TX1500U. He said they decided to retain swing on the TX9600TSa. The TX500Ua and TX1500Ua have something called Duration. If you enter 12 minutes, it will not turn on more than 5 times and hour. It heats up to the recommended temperature and stops, and won't start again until after the 12 minutes expires, and only then when heat is required. The temperature span between start and stop temperatures is fixed. Revision "a' was 1.8 degrees, and the "b" revision was further refined to 1.4 degrees. That would mean the true temperature variation could be more than that between cycles if the furnace was prevented from starting. On LUX models with swing, you put in a number between 1 an 9. Each number is 0.25 degrees F, for a maximum of 2.25 degrees, which I thought wasn't much of a range, until I learned swing doesn't work like I thought. Swing works on both sides of the set point so if you you enter a 2, it does turn on when the temperature dips below 0.5 degrees below the set point, but it also doesn't shut off until the temperature reaches .5 degrees above the set point. Thus to 2.25 maximum swing equates to a 4.5 degree spread between start and stop, which should be enough.Contacting Honeywell:Honeywell doesn't have swing except in the Prestige line which is only available through contractors. The DIY (Do-It-Yourself) models have only Cycles Per Hour, however they generally discourage it. I called Honeywell, and after they explained how it worked, I can understand why they discouraged it. For instance, for a high efficiency condensing furnace the recommend setting to 3 cycles per hour. What that setting does is divide an hour into 20 minute periods, and further divide those in half, with a 10 minute window where the system can be on, followed by a 10 minute window when the system cannot be on. Because of my disbelief, I made multiple calls to confirm this. That is actually quite different from the LUX. The LUX could run the entire hour if it had to, to get to the cut off temperature, and then not allowed to start again until the period expires. The Honeywell CPH sounds more like a unintelligent 50% duty cycle enforcer. I can understand now why so many reviews on the Honeywells mention frequent cycling as a problem, and why they encouraged me to go with the $300-$500 Prestige line to get swing. I also mentioned to Honeywell how they didn't have any temperature calibration ability. I was assured that they are set accurately at the factory, and there would be no problem with the temperature being off. However, the only thermometer that I know of that you can trust over time are the mercury and alcohol ones.Decisions, decisions:I leaned toward the Honeywell. I thought it looked nicer. The Honeywell also has daylight savings time built in, but not the LUX, in fact the Lux only uses day of week and time, not the date, which made me think, Micky Mouse. The other thing I liked was that the Honeywells have the option to auto switch between heating and cooling or manual. The feature doesn't matter to me, but it does indicate well thought out. I tried to rationalize that the Honeywell has been making thermostats for well over 100 years, as has Lux, so I shouldn't have to worry about them having a cycling problem like I had then. However, I had trouble coming to terms with that position when one of the major reoccurring complaints about the Honeywell on the web from people in cold climates, is rapid cycling, which is also why I was shopping for a thermostat in the first place. What I needed was something that stays on long enough to heat the house, which means the only cure was is a broader temperature span between on and off. There is only so much you can do to reconfigure the furnace, and I'd already proven furnace tweaking wasn't enough to fix the problem. The sad truth was the Honeywells didn't have a usable work-around for a frequent cycling problem. That left me with the 3 Lux Product's thermostats on my shortlist. There is only $2 difference between the TX500Ua and the TX1500Ua, so I dropped the TX500Ua from the list. The only difference that mattered to me between the TX1500Ua and TX9600TSa was the TX1500Ua uses Duration technology while the TX9600TSa uses Swing. They both have their advantages. With Duration, the temperature span would be 1.8 degrees for the "a" and 1.4 degrees for the "b". Thus, it is a fixed span, unless it has to wait out a Duration period, at which point the temperature range would drop until the appropriate amount of time has passed, and the thermostat would send a call for heat. However, as with the Honeywell, it would make the problem worse. Instead of doing very short cycles back to back, it would short cycle followed by a long wait. With the TX9600TSa, I set the Swing/Temperature Sensitivity, and it would cycle based on temperature, but there would never have to wait for a wait period to expire. Swing was the only method that can fix a problem like this. I didn't like paying an extra $30 for a touch screen that I didn't want, but the others didn't have the capabilities necessary to cure the problem. The Lux TX9600TS also advertises Battery Free Memory storage.Purchasing the thermostatI paid more money and bought locally because the furnace was cycling constantly and I wanted to fix it now. The TX9600TS packaging had no hint of whether it was a TX9600TS or a TX9600TSa. It did have a little -004 in small print after the model on the bottom of the packaging. Once it cut open the packaging, the instructions clearly stated TX9600TSa. The first thing I did was make sure the instructions said it had had Swing, like the Lux representative said, and they did. Then I was curious what the differences were between the TX9600TS and TX9600TSa. After going down their manuals side by side, the ONLY differences I could found were they made the TX9600TSa much easier for people to unsnap from its base, which is a complaint in the reviews. The only other changes a saw were slight differences in explaining the same features. The manual has the same number of pages, with the same items on each page.Initial setup of the thermostat:I read the instructions carefully. I didn't want to mess with the current thermostat during such cold weather, 10 degrees, until I had a plan. You need two AA batteries if you are going to do "arm chair" programming, so I got a couple of their recommended AA batteries. At first, I thought less of the Lux because of its use of dip switches instead of the soft setup the Honeywell uses. However, with the Honeywell setup, you need to deal with codes from the manual. E.G. You enter 0180 for the Heating Fan Control, and enter a 0 for gas or oil heat, or 1 for electric heat. Another nice feature of the Lux is that you can change a dip switch setting that can turn off all of the schedules, and use it like a regular thermostat, which I fully intended to do, but decided to leave it the default and change it later. The TX9600TS also advertises Battery Free Memory storage. Many give you so many seconds to change the battery, which indicates that you need batteries to maintain your settings during a power failure.Installation:The next thing was to check if I had the wiring necessary, and how things were currently wired. It was quicker to shut off the furnace, pull the cover, and check out the thermostat wiring from there than to disturb and have to re-level the current thermostat. I learned that the house had 4-conductor thermostat wire, which meant I was one wire short to be able to run the thermostat off furnace power, instead of the battery power. Fortunately, it didn't appear the wires were secured inside the wall, and unsecured is standard standard I hear. That meant I could use the old cable to pull a new one. I bought 22 feet of 8-conductor thermostat cable locally, and while there, picked up a 97 cent thermometer that read the same most of the others in the rack. I shut off the furnace switch as well as the furnace and air conditioning breakers. I took pictures of the furnace and thermostat wiring connections. It indeed turned out that pulling a new thermostat wire was far simpler than I had feared. Soon I had the new wire connected to the furnace and thermostat base and rechecked. I read where some people were upset because the touch thermostat would slide on the wall, so I put some thin 3M foam double-sided tape on the back of the base, away from the raised mounting areas, positioned the base with a level to make it look good, slid over to the right so the wiring came through on the left end of the thermostat base opening, and pressed the base against the wall. Having it to one side allowed me to mount a little nylon wire holder to the wall so the wire could never fall into the wall by accident, and the thin double-sided tape held the base in position while I drilled the new mounting holes in the wall. Then I pushed some insulation in around the where the wire where it comes through the hole in the wall, and put tape over the hole around the wire to prevent a draft from between floors from influencing the thermostat. Next I snapped the thermostat to the base, turned on both breakers, turned on the furnace, turned the thermostat to heat, and the furnace started. When you touch the display, it lights for 10 seconds, and you can faintly hear an oscillator while it is on. It surprised me that the display was not as bright as I thought it would be. That is probably good since most people probably just run off the batteries, and at night you wouldn't want it very bright. However, I was expecting the cool factor like I saw in the advertising, but what I received was what was practical.Final setup:I was initially confused during the setup only because I had difficulty accepting that it was that simple. I was thinking I must be missing something. Not so. You press the Menu button and press the on-screen scroll button to scroll though the settings. Then it's just the Next, OK, and Exit on-screen buttons. If you don't want to use the programs, but have them available, it's still easy. Simply press the on-screen Hold button. After that it behaves like a manual thermostat, but you still have all of the features such as Filter Monitoring, time, day-of-the-week, etc. that according to the manual you wouldn't have if you change the dip switch to have it act like a manual thermostat. It also does not lose the Hold setting when you change the temperature. If you want it to run the schedule, pressing Hold again releases it to run the schedule, and the display changes from Hold to Program Mode. When I touch the current temperature on screen, and nothing happens other than the screen lights up. If I touch the set temperature on screen, up and down arrows appear to adjust the temperature. The Fan On-Off fan switch is simple mechanical switch and the the Heat-Off-Cool switch are simple mechanical switches on the right side, just like a manual thermostat. This is what I like because in Spring and Fall, everything is turned off. In the summer after it gets hot, we simply switch it to cool and have the thermostat control the temperature, and turn it off when we don't want it to cycle anymore. Likewise in the late fall after things get quite cold, we turn it to heat for the season. However, for people that live in moderate climates where it might be cold at night, and hot during the day, they would prefer the Honeywell, which can be optionally enabled to automatically switch between Heat and Cool. The Honeywell doesn't not seem to have the problem of short cycling in moderate climates. When I spoke to the Lux representative, who is also from Michigan, I talked about how I planned to set the Swing to 8, so I would have 2 degrees up and 2 degrees down. He said he has the same thermostat, and said 4 turned out to be enough, so I set it to 4, and set the temperature at 62. This means it would kick in if it dipped below 61, and shut off as soon as the temperature exceeded 63.Experiences:1. It worked as expected right away.2. No more short cycling issues, but I was also in for some surprises. Even in 20 degree weather, it takes well over an hour to lose 1 degree of house temperature. That means with even the 2 degree span, the heat would be off for more than 2 1/2 hours. I didn't know how slowly the house lost heat until now. The way it was cycling before, it acted like the windows were open. It also makes sense to me now why Lux tightened the temperature hard-wired 1.8 degree temperature span on the TX500Ua and TX1500Ua to 1.4 degrees on the TX500Ub and TX1500Ub. However, it also makes me very glad that I picked the TX9600TS where I can adjust the span anything I need, down to .5 degrees. (A setting of 1 will cause a call for heat at .25 degrees below the set temperature, and cancel the call for heat .25 degrees above the set temperature.)3. My concern about others in the household being able to understand the thermostat if I left it configured for optional program mode turned out to be unfounded. It was a 1 minute class, and not even the least technical had a problem understand what to do.4. Nobody wanted to run a schedule because they wanted to do it manually. Two days later they were talking about a running schedule.5. On the Honeywells, people complain about the loud click when things happen. I found no complaints about the Lux in that regard, so I didn't know one way or the other. I can report that the sound of the click of the internal relays inside the Lux are very faint. You need to be close by to even hear them.6. Both Lux and Honeywell state they are temperature calibrated at the factory, and you should never have to change anything. However, at least the Lux does has a way to do it if necessary as things change over time, instead of replacing the thermostat. The old thermostat and the thermometer I picked up at the store agreed on the temperature. The Lux read between 4 and 5 degrees high. I simply set the calibration to -5.Summary:For me, I don't believe I could have done better than the TX9600TS. I discovered how useful Swing is. If I lived in a moderate climate, I would have no doubt gone with one of the Honeywells. Might one of the two Honeywells worked for me? I can't know that, but from the complaints around the web, reading the documentation, and talking with Honeywell, they don't have anything you can configure to cure the short cycling problem if you encounter it."Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it."

Overall I am pleased with this thermostat. When I was researching thermostats I was told by heating contractors that all thermostats kicked in the auxiliary heating when you programmed a temperature change of 2 degrees or more in the heat mode. I have heat strips and it is very costly compared with using the heat pump. I did not find this covered in the Honeywell documentation but I'm happy to report that it looks at the outside temperature and calculates a time to ramp up to the new temperature to arrive at that set point by that time and does not kick in the auxiliary heat unless it can't keep up with the programmed ramp. I would have given them five stars except that they are using the local temperature as reported by accuweather.com which is often off here by up to 10 degrees (there is no close weather station here). If they are 10 degrees hotter than the actual temperature, then the unit will not recover in time and kick on the heat strips. If 10 degrees cooler then the system will begin the heating cycle too early and negate some of the cost savings. The cost impact would not be as bad in the cooling mode but would still have a cost impact. It would not reach the set point by the time if it started too late and might try to cool in the hotter part of the day (less efficient) if the set time is after the hottest time of the day and it started too early.

Easy install since our old thermostat had the C-wire already connected. Looks great, works great, and has some great features. Connecting it to wifi and going online allows you to have the thermostat email you should the temperature drop out of a range you select. With our furnace being on the fritz a bit, this is a great feature to have (especially with our dog at home alone). A previous comment said that it was bright and acted as a nightlight. This is true at the default setting, but you can dim it pretty low so that its no longer an issue. As-is, our digital alarm clock puts off more light than the thermostat.
One odd thing though: every night at ~ 0230, the background color on the thermostat changes from the blue color we have it set on, to this bright yellow color (one of the presets) and the brightness returns to default. It has changed back to blue by time I get up in the morning (0430), but no idea why this happens. I've changed to different color backgrounds, but it still keeps happening. I'd say it was poltergeist, but they know better than to touch the thermostat.

Purchased one for upstairs and main floor. I wanted an alternative to Nest that had more control. So far they work great. I can connect from anywhere and adjust settings.

Be aware that these thermostats have a smaller footprint than most and may not cover holes in wall if you had a large thermostat before. I like that it is smaller and less noticeable.

The ability to change the screen color to match your wall paint is neat but if you have the screen dim after a while then it is not as noticeable.

Cons: I wish the thermostat had more options such as setting the temp and letting it use heat or ac depending on the temp in the house. The thermostat features are rather basic compared to its visual and internet features. I'll take a star off for that. Perhaps they will add more with firmware updates.

Was weary of going to wifi\online controllable but these have been really solid (using 2). I actually found it more intuitive than other units when it came the setting up the schedule. Looking\Controlling the temp remotely is neat but the alerts are where the payoff is. You'll get an email or txt if the temperature or humidity gets passed a certain threshold. Hard to say anything bad, a little pricey but so far worth the premium.

Additionally, if your an interior designer type, the background can be set to about 10 different patterns\color. Meh for my purposes.

Works pretty well. Good: Nice to know heat is on when u are away. iPhone app is pretty good but not robust. You can turn heat up or down and check status, Can only do limited setup things from phone. Full set up requires computer log in. Gripes: led light can't be shut off so don't put it in your bedroom. But it does replace nightlight in hall. requires a C wire if you don't have one on your current thermostat then get professional to install. Housing is different size than most thermostats so expect to have to patch and paint area behind the thermostat. They should really provide a mounting plate to cover this over.

Been very pleased thus far. No issues with displayed temp not matching ambient temp - and I am using the 24v dc wire from the heat pump to power the unit, with batteries as backup. I've read several instances where people have had an issue with the 24v dc connector causing their thermostat to 'run warmer' than the room really is. What I can say is that we have noticed a huge difference in how our heat pump performs. It seems to run much more efficiently - it runs more frequently but much shorter cycles and the house is much more constant, temperature-wise. I would have given the thermostat 5 stars, except I had to drive quite a way to buy a 1-foot length of thermostat wire to put in a jumper to make the heat work correctly (after a call to tech support). If you do NOT jumper the W1 terminal from yellow with a heat pump with emergency and aux heat, you will only get heat if you run the thermostat up to the point where it calls for aux heat. The old thermostat did not have this jumper in place. Regardless, I think they should provide a jumper wire - not everyone has a piece of thermostat wire just laying around. Other than that, I am completely pleased with the performance, especially for the price of this unit.

I chose this digital thermostat because of it's larger digits. I don't need a programmable model but it's easy to set this to SETHOLD so it does not revert to automatic setback if you know how. The booklet is clear and they do have U.S. phone support. I have 2 and like the clean design. It's a 2 piece design so you can snap off the thermostat from the wall plate. The only disappointment for me is there is no provision I can find to set the backlight always on. It's located in a dark hallway and requires me to push the button to read the display. I do have power provided by the furnace controller but I think the battery inside may power the backlight. I suspect but am not sure that if the battery were to become exhausted the thermostat might just revert to it's preset values. This would definitely not be good for my needs and I must thus watch the battery indicator for this. Maybe I can confirm this one way or the other with their phone support. Then again maybe I should just remove the battery and see what happens.

Pretty easy to set up. Set one day, can copy/paste to others. Kind of a pain to cycle through all days/times/settings to adjust weekend days, but in reality shouldn't be doing this very often. Took one star away because the ambient temperature was about 2 degrees F off. Had to adjust it. One other small complaint. If you want to temporarily change the setting away from what's programmed, there are two buttons available after adjusting: "Next" and "Hold". If you (or someone in your household, lol) accidentally pushes "Hold", it holds that temperature setting indefinitely, ignoring all programming... Make sure to use "Next" if you want next programmed setting to kick in when it's time. For the price, I'm happy with my purchase.

So far this product works great. I installed it myself with little problems. If I have on peeve or two it's the instructions. There are 6 choices they give you depending on your unit. If you're like me, I just know it's a gas furnace.The help line only open Monday -Friday 9-5. So if you do it on the weekend like most of us, you are SOL.If you purchase it from Home Depot, don't ask tbem. All of them are clueless and nothing like their commercials.But besides that..nice unit.

I purchased this because the Honeywell that came with my new house was not programmable. Installation was very easy since the letter scheme on the old Honeywell matched the Lux. The new thermostat looks very cool and modern in my house since it is basically just a big touchscreen. For some reason I was expecting the cool blue backlight to be on all the time but it isn't and I guess that is probably good since it would drain the batteries pretty quick, it only lights up when you touch the panel. The touch screen is very nice and I had no problem using it to program the thermostat. My local Lowes carried this TX9600TS model as well but it was almost $20 more than on Amazon. I'm very happy so far and I would recommend it to others.

I recently installed this in my apartment, as what i had before was solely a temperature gauge.The thermostat it replaced was a heat pump system(the most wires)I was constantly adjusting the thermostat when I woke up, when i left for work, when i came home, and when I went to bed.I bough this has a permanent addition to the apartment, and being permanent i did not want to go with the app enabled devices that were more expensive.This thermostat met all my expectations. it has a 4 time 7 day programmable setting with an adjustable offset. The offset prevents the A/C from toggling repeatedly, which helps keeps the electric bill lower.It was easy to install and took me around 45 minutes in total.The only downside is that it is a bit time consuming to setup the different time and day temperatures, and the system is unforgiving if you make a mistake with the settings. This is a small downside, as I do not constantly change the settings, but still something to consider.

The unit is very good and has been in service almost 1.5 years. We do not program, but could.Anyway, I am not thrilled about the switches on the side. Very hard to operate between positions. All controls could have been digital.

Not so easy to program as it sounds. Tip: put the battery in, program it, then plug it into the wall: sitting down under a good light helps

my wall didnt have a wire for power so i ad to use the battery, the unit buzzes when the blue back light comes on, its really loud and the back light never stays on, so you cant see the temperature in the room. although i think its a great unit/value for the price, it could be better in functionality and ease of use.

The Lux TX9600TS offers some advanced features at a reasonable price. It’s capable of performing well, but there’s one critical caveat.The thermostat can be powered by:- Batteries alone (2 AA alkaline batteries)- 24 volts AC alone- 24 volts AC with battery backupIf your thermostat cable has a 24 volt AC common wire, it can be connected to the thermostat's “C” terminal to provide the power. This can be used alone or in addition to installing batteries as a backup. According to the manufacturer, the thermostat has non-volatile memory for the program, but you will have to reenter the current time and day if the thermostat has no power source for more than one minute. For convenience, the thermostat can be programmed while removed from the wall if batteries are installed.I tested the Lux TX9600TS with my heat pump over a three week period in heating season and made the following observations.When powered by batteries alone the thermostat performed well –– accurately displaying and controlling room temperature. In Heat mode with the thermostat’s swing setting at +/-0.25°F the room temperature differential measured by a min/max thermometer 6” from the thermostat was no greater than 0.7°F.After connecting AC power to the “C” terminal, the temperature displayed by the thermostat suddenly decreased 2°F, then slowly increased 5°F (a net increase of 3°F) as if the temperature sensor was being heated by the power supply. Adjusting the thermostat’s calibration improved the accuracy of the displayed temperature, but the magnitude of the error fluctuated over time.In Heat mode with AC power, noticeable temperature swings and prolonged cycle durations occurred even though the thermostat’s temperature swing was set at its minimum of +/-0.25°F. The room temperature differential was high as 2.4°F measured by a min/max thermometer 6” from the thermostat.After disconnecting AC power from the “C” terminal, the temperature displayed by the thermostat suddenly increased 2°F, then slowly decreased 5°F (a net decrease of 3°F) as if the temperature sensor cooled until it reached ambient temperature. At this point the thermostat accurately displayed the ambient temperature at the default calibration of 0°F and provided good temperature control.The disadvantage of powering the thermostat by batteries alone is that you must remember to replace the batteries when they get weak, and make sure to have fresh batteries on hand.As a result of the poor performance of the Lux TX9600TS when powered by AC, I purchased a Honeywell RCT8200A (identical to the Honeywell RTH8500D), and began comparison testing.Although the Honeywell lacks some the features of the Lux, including adjustable swing, adjustable offset and energy usage monitor, it performed very well when powered by AC –– accurately displaying and controlling the ambient temperature. The room temperature differential measured by a min/max thermometer 6” from the thermostat was no greater than 0.7°F, matching the Lux’s battery-powered performance.Both the Lux TX9600TS and the Honeywell RCT8200A / RTH8500D have an optional recovery feature. With recovery enabled, the thermostat attempts to reach the desired temperature at the scheduled time by changing the temperature setting early.The recovery feature isn’t just for comfort. A thermostat with a good recovery algorithm can save energy with systems that have a second heating stage that’s more expensive to operate than the first stage (for example, a heat pump with electric resistance auxiliary heat). During recovery, the thermostat gradually increases the temperature, maximizing use of the more efficient first heating stage, and minimizing use of the second stage. If you have such a system, you can save money by using the recovery feature even if you don’t need it for comfort.The recovery performance of the Lux and Honeywell models I tested is somewhat limited because they are not capable of monitoring the outside temperature and adjusting the recovery accordingly. That capability isn’t expected at this price level. These thermostats estimate the recovery time based on previous performance.I don’t have the capability of measuring the energy use of my heating system while controlled by each thermostat under identical conditions, but I did observe the recovery durations. I allowed each thermostat to “learn” how long it took my system (a heat pump with electric resistance auxiliary heat) to reach the programmed temperature setting for several nights. The Lux TX9600TS began recovery no more than one hour early. The Honeywell RCT8200A / RTH8500D began recovery as long as three hours early in order to minimize use of expensive auxiliary heat.Comparing the displays of the two thermostat, the Lux has larger characters, but the Honeywell’s light green backlight appears brighter and provides better contrast than the Lux’s blue backlight. Both thermostats turn off their backlights seconds after touching the screen. This annoying behavior is understandable if the thermostat is operating on batteries, but I’d prefer the backlight stay on at least one minute when powered by 24 Volts AC.If you want a thermostat with adjustable swing temperature and adjustable temperature offset between the first and second heat stages, the Lux TX9600TS is worth considering, but only if you are willing to power it with batteries alone.I would rate the Lux TX9600TS as follows, contingent upon its power source:4 out of 5 stars if powered by batteries alone.1 out of 5 stars if powered by 24 Volts AC.

I like the thermostat. I have issues with it though. About 4 times a year the unit "freezes" up. The thermostat acknowledges that the actual temperature but it never turns the ac or heat actually off. When this happens I usually wake up in the middle of the night with my house at about 60 degrees and turn the thermostat to OFF. I let it sit like that for a while and turn it back on a couple hours later and it usually performs fine from there. I am not sure why mine does this and reading other people's comments it does not seem like anyone else has issues with this. I never had any issues with my old thermostat and it does not happen often but I worry about it when I go out of town. Good unit otherwise

The thermostat looks great, is easy to install, and has a lot of features. However when the back lite is on, it makes a high audible buzz noise. I knew going into it this may be an issue, and when I tried to show my roommate how to use it, first thing he said after the screen lit up "whats that buzzing sound?." You will hear it and it only buzzes when you touch the screen and the back lite goes on. For sixty something it is a value compared to what's out there, as long as you are okay with the buzzing it will make.Second thing I want to point out, the model I got from Amazon was the TX9600TSa.... The "a" is the newer model.

I like the thermostat. Looks good and generally functions well. But I specifically bought this for the ability to remotely adjust the temperature at my vacation home while driving to it. I don't want the AC cranking when I'm gone for 3 weeks, and I don't want to come in to a hot house. I was shocked to learn that when the system is on vacation mode (which I use when I leave) you are unable to remotely switch the system back on. That seems that exactly what you would want to do remotely. How can they have missed this primary function? Of less significance, turning on vacation mode requires a bunch of steps.

There are less expensive WiFi thermostats on the market. So when I decided to pay more for this model, I expected a top-of-the-line thermostat that would install easily. That is where the disappointment begins.

First, if you buy a WiFi thermostat to replace a battery operated thermostat, set aside a few hours. Your battery operated thermostat probably has 4 wires connecting it to the cooling system. But WiFi thermostats need to be hard-wired with a C-wire (24 V line). That's just a reality you have to face with any WiFi thermostats. The Honeywell website and manual are misleading with their "alternative wiring" options. There is no alternative writing option. Your options are 1) get the C-wire connected from your furnace or 2) return the thermostat and go back to battery operated one.

After figuring out how to tap into the C connection terminal in the guts of the furnace, I was up and running with the power to operate the thermostat. So I got to work installing it. Once I had the mounting plate on the wall, I connected the thermostat to the mounting plate, and turned on the power at the circuit box, and it powered up! But the problem is that once you screw the mounting plate to the wall, if there is ANY curvature or irregularity to the wall, the plastic mounting plate flexes, and it prevents the thermostat from snapping completely onto the mounting plate. So there your expensive thermostat sits, incompletely secured, ready to come off the mounting plate with the slightest bump. Not sure how many times this device would survive a 5 foot fall onto a tile floor, but I don't want to find out. The only way I could get the device mounted securely was to use 3m adhesive strips on the back of the mounting plate AFTER I had already secured the device to the mounting plate.

If this is the first touch screen you have ever seen in your life, you will probably be impressed. However, if you have a smart phone, tablet, or any other modern touch screen device, you will quickly realize that this touch screen is very primitive. It's inaccurate and you have to hold your finger onto the screen for an abnormally long period of time for it to register your input. When entering your WiFi code, I hope your passcode does not have capital letters, because the shift key is right above the cancel key. With the inaccuracy of the touch screen, expect to make 7-8 attempts to enter your WiFi code before you finally complete it without inadvertently pressing cancel.

Lastly, for a device that connects to the internet, I am surprised that I have to enter the date and time on the device, and that I was not able to register the device once connected to the internet.

This device is pleasing to the eye and has a small footprint. However, it is apparent that the costs and development of this product were focused on size and appearance rather than making a solid product. I am returning the units for something less expensive and easier to use.

Unfortunately there does not appear to be any documentation prior to purchasing this unit that states it has no connections for remote sensors.

Very complicated install and directions in comparison to store bought

I liked the product fine while it worked. Just over two years (25 months to be exact) after I installed it, the temperature wouldn't go above 61 degree with the thermostat set at 70. This went on for over a week. I thought something was wrong with the furnace, so I called the repair guys (not cheap for me because I live very far out in the country and the repair guys have to drive over 30 miles to get to me). Anyway, they looked it over and said the furnace was operating fine. On a whim I turned the thermostat to 80 and the temperature came up to 70. A thermostat of this quality should last much longer than two years.

Easy to install however the room temperature appeared to be at least 3 degrees higher that it actually was. I compared it 2 thermometers that I placed in the same area as the Lux unit. I know are very accurate. Don't waste your money. I decided to return it for refund. I later ordered an Emerson unit. Much more accurate and more user friendly and less money.

I gave this device several months of trial. However, it has proven to be almost impossible to program and certainly impossible to see in normal lighting conditions. Even the backlit surface which only lights when you touch the screen has very little contrast between the so-called numbers and letters and the background.In programming you have about 4 to 6 seconds to enter your data to program the machine. Then the light goes out and you can go longer see it. It proved it proved impossible for me to program properly and certainly to check my data out. I have not returned it, but I have purchased a replacement.

The thermostat looks nice but unfortunately has flaws. When powered from the AC when back light is on it emits annoying high frequency pitch. I would have accept that but the thermostat was failing to maintain temperature within the programmed range. The shift was up to 2 degrees. I had an older and cheaper RITE TEMP that was working better and which I put back in place.

The thermostat "works" in the sense that it reliably turns the furnace on when the temp is a few degrees below the set temperature, and turns it off again when the temperature is a few degrees above the set temperature.However, the temperature sensor is inaccurate and unreliable. The thermostat routinely displays the current temperature as 3 or 4 degrees warmer than the actual temperature (as verified by independent measurement). That forced me to redo my heating program and set higher values for all of the temperatures. This took about 5 minutes, which is not a huge deal, but it was something I've never had to deal with on any other thermostat.More importantly, the device emits a high-pitched whine whenever you activate the touch screen. The noise isn't terribly loud, and it goes away as soon as the screen shuts off again, otherwise I would have returned it already.Given the bugs, I fully expect this device to fail soon. When it does, I will not be replacing it with another from this manufacturer.

Product did not match the description, this has no support for WiFi.

I would give this 5 stars as far as operation. However if you sell your house, I would give customer service a -5. You cannot remove it online, you must call. When you do call, you must be present where the thermostat is located even if you have the model number and MAC address to be able to get them off your account so the buyer can set them up in their name. TOTALLY RIDICULOUS.

Was easy to install and configure. Worked great for a week. Then I left on a long vacation, relying on it to monitor my home. I received an email that it had lost contact with the Internet. I have several other smart home gadgets (IP Cam, Slingbox), and they are working fine, so I know my internet is working. I have my ISP reboot my modem, but that didn't help. I called Honeywell and they said I would need to re-enable my thermostat. But I would have to be home to do that. Since I can't relay on the remote access, I will return when I get back from my vacation. (Than you Amazon for extending the return period until after I get back home).

Originally it was 3 stars. Item works fine and looks great. The reason for the 3 stars is that you cant control Humidity from this stat. Now I have an additional ugly humidity stat under both of my stats. Never would have purchased and will be selling on ebay soon once I find a replacement.

1 star - Turns out it never worked from the beginning the fan was just blowing. We have a brand new system. Our HVAC guy uninstalled these and used a regular stat and the AC came pouring out. Too bad I bought them so early now I am stuck with them.

Bought the 2 pack....1 works and 1 doesn't, return it! Bought in September for a rehab project now it's NOV and just installed..... Guess what? NOT ELIGIBLE for return! HEEEELLLPPPP!

This Thermostat produces a very annoying low pitch noise any time the back display lights up. First I thought my unit was defective, so I ordered another one. Same thing. Brand new out of the box issues. So if you are sensitive to hearing I wouldn't recommend it.

I connected this thermostat exactly as the instructions said.I set the temperature to 71°F and set the set point to 80°F. I flipped it to HEAT and the fan came on right away but no heat came on.I reset the set point to 45°F and flipped it to HEAT again and the fan came on right away and didn't go off.I reconnected the old thermostat and it worked just the way it is supposed to.

didn't work after two months.......

Doesn't even look remotely as bright as you make it look here?........first one failed haven't even tried the replacement. The first one cost me $202 just to have my old one put back in.because of a defect in the first one!

So poorly made that one of the screws you need to loosen to insert the wires is too tight to loosen (even with two people and vice grips!). Even their own instructions tell you not to tighten it too much. Pathetic.

This thing is garbage. Easy enough to install and set up but will not hold temperature. I set unit to 69 and it will drop all the way to 65 and run secondary heater. Switches won't relay to turn fan on. I tried calling customer service/tech support at 4pm and left my phone plugged in was on hold for 2 hours until they eventually disconnected me at their closing time 6pm. This thing is junk.