Wow, I spent a lot of time reviewing thermostats, and basically each and every one I could find has quite a number of reviews that say that the thermostat (no matter which one you research) is terrible. So, I went with a Honeywell, to replace the programmable Honeywell I bought 15 years ago and have loved, but that got fried when my furnace shorted out. I also didn't need a thermostat to track my comings and goings, or use machine learning or a motion sensor to figure out when to turn on, because even when I am working from home I don't need the entire house heated or cooled. For my purposes, the "intelligent" thermostats are a bit of an overkill, but other people certainly will have other needs and those might work well for them. The Honeywell can be programmed and provide status updates remotely. It also has air filter and humidifier pad replacement notifications, which I like. That is a step up from my old one. I also like not having to change batteries every few months, because all too often I had to reprogram everything if I couldn't swap out the batteries fast enough.
A few things about unit I received, to provide a counterpoint to a lot of the reviews and comments I have read which are either inaccurate, or outdated (perhaps due to device/software updates), based on my experience. First off - this is a RT model, meaning Retail. Not sure what was being shipped a couple of years ago but this is what I got this month. It has a one year warranty, and Amazon offers extended warranties. Second, it does get updates for outside temp and humidity, which seems to have been an issue with older devices/software.
I found installation to be a snap. I did need to add a "C" wire, but with a new furnace, I just took an unused wire in the existing thermostat wiring harness and connected it on both ends as shown in the excellent videos. I also labeled it with the included wiring tags (another nice touch) since I couldn't use the industry standard Blue wire for "C". It helps to make sure the stripped wire ends are: a) long enough and b) straight. Don't try to straighten out the existing bent and stripped ends unless you absolutely don't have enough wire to cut and strip clean ends. They just won't make good contact and that can lead to all sorts of issues.
I don't have a 2 stage furnace, but the wiring seems to support that, as does the programming. There are also specific settings and wiring diagrams for Heat Pumps that must be observed.
I connected to my wifi easily, and on the first attempt. I have a long wifi password (everyone should) and while entering it, I did wish for a Caps Lock key, because otherwise, each time you want to type a capital letter, you need to re-tap the Shift key, and then you type the letter and the keyboard goes back to lowercase. That made typing multiple capital letters in a row a bit of a pain, but fortunately something you may never do more than once. Otherwise, the touchscreen works well and I prefer it to the "turn the dial", or "scroll the alphabet" with Up/Down button, text entry methods of some other wifi thermostats.
The screen is customizable, so my wife and I made it match the background wall paint, just for laughs. It is quite an amazing color match, and you have a lot of control over the color palette. Note that when customizing the background color, the brightness there is for the color brightness/depth, not the screen brightness. I read a review where someone complained that the screen brightness was useless, and I suspect they were not adjusting the right setting. You do not use the Color Theme menu for this. You can make the screen completely dark, but only when it goes idle, by changing the Backlight Settings under Preferences. (I wasn't sure about using this thermostat in a bedroom until I found that setting, but now it seems like it's a good option.)
I also think, based on my experience with computer screens for many years, that dimming or turning off the backlight will reduce the heat emitted by the screen, thus giving a more accurate temperature reading. That one tip might help a lot of people with their temperature accuracy issues.
** UPDATED ** I thought I would test out my hypothesis about the higher backlight levels generating more heat. So, I changed the backlight from the default, down to level 1, and after a few hours measured the screen temperature with a very accurate Infrared meter. At a room temp pf 78 degrees, the screen temp was 84 degrees (F). Then, I set the backlight to the max - level 10 - and waited a few hours. Same room temp, but the screen temp was 90 degrees (F). So, I believe that it's quite possible high backlight levels can cause erroneous temperature readings, although perhaps someone from Honeywell can chime in to confirm. But, the screen is still readable at backlight level 1, with the light color scheme I chose, so there is no harm in dimming it. Tapping the screen turns the backlight back to normal viewing levels.
You can always tap a dimmed screen to wake it up and see the current temperature and settings, or do this from your computer or phone.
I really like this thermostat's option of running the fan in Circulate mode, where it runs 35% of the time. You can schedule it so the fan does not circulate at night, or during any scheduled heating/cooling window. This effectively moves cooler air from my basement to the upper floors without running the compressor. If the AC coils are still cool, it will also act as a short-term dehumidifier. (I'm not sure how many other thermostats have this feature.) I would say that I don't think people with air handlers in an attic or un-insulated crawlspace should do this without checking to see if the air that is circulated isn't being heated or cooled by the ambient air surrounding the air handler. From prior testing, I know that my attic unit would just heat the air if the A/C compressor isn't running, so I wouldn't want to circulate air there.
Scheduling online is a breeze. I really like the ability to set each day individually, or to set a group of days, such as the workdays, all the same. I set my Monday-Friday the same, and then the weekends on a different schedule. Then I tweaked the Friday night schedule to reflect the later bedtime. My only gripe about the online scheduler is that once you set your schedule, it's not very intuitive as to how to get back to it and change it. I think Honeywell should add a Schedule button to the main page to make it easier to navigate.
A couple of other things to note - the thermostat seems to predict when it should turn on or off to meet the next scheduling window. This is to ensure the house is at the desired temperature at the start of the next scheduled period. That's great when you arrive home at 5:30 and the house is already cool, not just starting to get cool. The thermostat also learns how long it takes to change the temperature, so it does this efficiently and you don't have to set the house to be cool at 5:00 just so it's ready at 5:30. But, I found the opposite to be true - if you set your Leave time to 8:00AM, and set the cooling temperature to rise to 83 degrees at that time, the thermostat actually starts to let the temperature rise a few minutes beforehand, so it is at 83 degrees at 8:00 AM. I would characterize this as a software flaw, because you really want the house to stay at the cooler temp _until_ you leave. The workaround is simple though - just add a few minutes (like 10 or 15) to your Leave start time, and you will be all set. I hope Honeywell addresses this, perhaps by making it a configurable option such as: "Hold Temp Until Leave Time Starts."
| Brand | North by Honeywell |
|---|---|
| Controller Type | Vera, Amazon Alexa, iOS, Android |
| Special Feature | Programmable |
| Color | Silver |
| Specific Uses For Product | Furnace |
| Temperature Control Type | Heating and Cooling |
| Connectivity Technology | Wi-Fi |
| Included Components | Thermostat, Mounting Hardware, User Manual |
| Item Weight | 150 Grams |
| Voltage | 30 Volts |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| Display Type | Digital |
| Screen Size | 3.5 Inches |
| Control Type | Touch |
| Control Method | Voice |
| Connectivity Protocol | Wi-Fi |
| Mounting Type | Embedded |
| Style | Smart,Touch |
| Backlight | Yes |
| Specification Met | Energy Saving Thermostat |
| Manufacturer | Honeywell |
| Part Number | RTH9580WF1005/W1 |
| Item Weight | 5.3 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 4.5 x 0.88 x 3.5 inches |
| Item model number | RTH9580WF1005/W1 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Size | 8.06 sq inch |
| Installation Method | Wall-Mounted |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Special Features | Programmable |
| Batteries Included? | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
