Product Review And Giveaway: Honeywell Wi-Fi Programmable Thermostat
Note: I received the RTH9580 Wi-Fi enabled thermostat from Honeywell in exchange for the review included in the post below. However, all experiences and opinions are 100% my own.
When we built our home ten years ago, our builder installed the most basic of thermostats. A sliding button switched the system between off, cool, and heat. Then there were the two buttons that allowed the user to turn up and down the set temperature.
That was it.
I knew there were thermostats out there with more features, but purchasing one was never a priority. So, we manually adjusted the thermostat whenever we left the house, and again when we returned.
Then along came the Wi-Fi Programmable Thermostat from Honeywell.
The Installation
The thermostat not only comes with documentation that details the installation process, but it also points to videos on Honeywell’s website that walked me through the steps. I watched the video carefully, as the way my specific furnace was wired required me to move a couple wires on the furnace’s terminal block. I have to admit, I was a little wary about the process because doing anything with electrical wires isn’t a strong skill of mine. I became even more concerned when the terminal block on my furnace didn’t quite match what was shown in the video.
Thankfully, a support number is given as well. After emailing a picture of my terminal block to their support team, and a five minute conversation, I had all the information I needed to complete the installation. Less than 30 minutes later I had the new thermostat mounted on the wall, all necessary wiring redone, connected to my wi-fi and registered.
To be honest with you, once I turned the power back on to my furnace, and the thermostat lit up, I simply followed the directions on the unit. After I completed the setup, I went back and read through the documentation that came with the thermostat to make sure I didn’t forget anything.
Going Mobile
With everything up and running, I created an account on the website used to connect to and control the thermostat remotely. I then downloaded the free app onto both my smart phone as well as my iPad which gave me the ability to control my new thermostat from anywhere.
So. Freaking. Cool.
Options Galore
Here at CleverDude, we’re all about finding ways to save money AND to make life more enjoyable. How will this new thermostat help me do that?
- Automatic Temperature Control: I can set the temperature to automatically change several times a day to coincide with when we get up, when we get home from work, and when we go to sleep. No more forgetting to turn the heat down before leaving for work in the morning!
- Control From Anywhere: We leave on the weekends occasionally, and will set the thermostat to a temperature that will reduce our energy costs since nobody will be home anyway. The drawback is that in the summer, we come home to a hot house, and in winter to a cold one. With this new thermostat we can adjust the temperature on the car ride home and have the house be at our usual living temperature by the time we walk in the door.
- Alerts: Users can configure the app to send alerts to you for certain events such as if the temperature in your home goes above or below a certain temperature. These alerts can tell you if something is not right with your heating and cooling system when you’re far away. If that kind of emergency would happen, it may be time to call up the neighbors for some help.
Over the next few weeks I’ll be exploring all the options of my new thermostat, and learning just how to utilize them to maximize comfort, yet minimize my energy costs. It’ll be interesting to see as the months go by how much the RTH9580 Wi-Fi Programmable Thermostat affects our energy costs!
I hope I got you excited about the possibilities of the thermostat, because the folks at Honeywell are providing another thermostat for me to give away to one lucky reader!
Just follow the directions below to enter by 11PM CST on Monday, April 28th and YOU could be that lucky reader. I’ll announce the winner on Friday, May 2nd.
I just ask one thing: Take a minute to do a little investigation to see if your home’s heating/cooling system is compatible with this crazy cool thermostat. Follow this link, and answer the questions under the “Home Compatibility†section. I’d hate for you to win, get the thermostat only to find out you can’t use it.
Good luck everyone!
Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children, Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.
usually at 75
We keep it at 72.
During the winter, 62 at night/not home and 68 when home. During the summer, we usually can keep it off and just run fans.
2 programmables, one for upstairs, one for downstairs. Winter 62 at night, 68 while home, 64 during the day. Summer 80 during the day, 78 at night. We run the furnace fan 24/7/365 and have since we built the house 11 years ago.
We have a dumb(not smart) programmable thermostat.
It has morning, afternoon, evening, and night for both heat and cool for all different days of the week; so too many to list.
When we are home it is usually set to 70-72 range.
Normally its a 77, but I’ve bumped it down to 75 lately.
We keep it set to 65 degrees.
66F during the winter and 76F during the summer.
at 72 degrees
I’ve been putting off getting one of these because my local energy provider offers them so they can control our useage. If I can be the one who monitors it remotely, that’s preferable to me, particularly in light of Vegas summers!
I usually only cool my house to 84F during the day because it’s so expensive in Vegas to leave it running while the house is vacant.
Usually keep it at 74 in the summer and 71 in the winter
73
I keep it at 68 in the winter and 70 in the summer
Usually keep it at 70
Usually between 72 and 74.
Try to keep it at 68 during winter. Usually will bump it up when really cold.
Usually 68 in winter and 75 in summer.
21 degree’s Celsius in the Winter, 24-25 in the Summer
Wow, this thermostat is worth to buy! Hopefully I’m the lucky winner, btw, I already entered the giveaway! Thanks for this one!
65-68. Usually we turn it down to 65 at night, if we remember.
We usually keep it at 68 during the winter, 76 during the summer. And the nighttime temp varies depending on the current weather and season.
70 year round
We keep our thermostat usually around 69 degrees. We’re from the great white North so we have a higher tolerance for lower temperatures (haha). I love having a programmable thermostat, but in our new house, there is not one; it’s hard to remember to turn it up/down when appropriate!
Our thermostat temps are 68 in the winter, and 73 in the summer.