Honeywell RTH7500D Conventional 7-Day Programmable Thermostat
by Honeywell
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Honeywell RTH7500D Conventional 7-Day Programmable Thermostat
Customer Review: Good, but a couple of nits...
Summary: 5 Stars
First the negative...
The Installation Guide needs revision. I spoke to Honeywell about this and other complaints and hopefully these issues will be changed. BTW, they were very nice.
First problem: To set the system preferences is says to press the left button and then hold the middle button down for 5 seconds. It didn't work. It will work on older models, but on the newer ones they changed the operation of the unit so that pressing a button first turns on the backlight. Once the backlight is on, then press the buttons again to get the desired response. This isn't mentioned in the manual.
Second problem: Since I am retired, I don't need the "Leave" and "Return" settings. There is no way to cancel these. Of course, you can set the time for these to match the "Wake" and "Sleep" times, it just seems like added work and is not intuitive. Some of the lower priced models have the ability to cancel these settings.
Okay, now for the good...
1) It keeps the temperature very consistent compared to my old thermostat.
2) If I want to change the temperature I can do so and the programed schedule will still function normally at the next preset time, or I can put the temp change on permanent hold. This is great for those days that your bones feel a little colder than normal.
3) The display is bright and clear. I like being able to see the actual and set temps at the same time.
4) Once the unit is set up, operation is very simple.
5) For those that need it, it can automatically run your heat and cooling through the day to keep your temperature at a constant setting. Think Hot days and Cold nights! I suppose you could also use this to lower the temperature at night for better sleeping.
6) The Smart Response Technology allows you to wake up to the temperature that you want or to go to sleep at lower temperatures.
7) This unit gets its power from the furnace and only uses the battery as a backup. This eliminates the worry about having the battery die while you are away for a protracted period of time in the winter. I'm not sure why this would need a battery back up because if it looses power, it's because your furnace has also lost power. I suppose it's for people that want this controller, but don't have the right wires available from the furnace to power it. It also has a lithium battery to protect its memory?
8) This unit also has automatic daylight savings time adjustments.
Summation...
All in all, I really like this thermostat and would recommend it to anyone or everyone. I'm glad I bought it.
If you don't mind just running off of batteries or don't need 7 day programming, the lower price models are also very nice.
Customer Review: Works Great On My Heat Pump
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're looking for a Thermostat that works with your Heat Pump, then get this product. I've had others and I really can't say this is better, but it works just like it is suppose to work. IMPORTANT...read the two manuals supplied. Don't even pick up the unit and fiddle with it, not that it will make any difference in the way it performs, but the two books are your best friend. This unit is a little more complex than your standard (just turn on the furnace & air conditioner) type of unit. If you have ever connected a thermostat before in your life, then you can do this one. I bought it for the Heat Pump capabilities. Normally, I would not need suck a capable unit, but with a Heat Pump, you need the features this product offers you.
Do the installation during normal work hours. If you already have a working thermostat, leave it alone until you can start during normal work hours just in case you have some questions or trouble understanding what you are reading. That way, you can call the toll free Help Desk and they WILL get you through it. In most cases, you won't have any problems if you READ THE MATERIAL FIRST.
You should start reading the Quick Installation Guide first. Get a favorite drink (one that won't cloud your mind) and read it cover to cover. Then read the Operating Manual, get another drink if you have to, but read them BOTH BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT the installation. This will save you a lot of frustration. This is not a difficult unit to install, however, there are a lot of functions built into this unit and you got what you paid for...a good thermostat. By reading the process of putting on the wall, wiring, and setting it up and so forth, it will help you understand all the features and all the other information you need to be aware of before you rip if off the wall and write some inaccurate post on this site and blaming Honeywell. No, I don't work for Honeywell, but they are not the blame for you not reading and understanding their instructions. I recommend this unit to anyone who owns a home and has a Heat Pump. It doesn't matter what kind of Heat Pump you own, this unit will do the trick. Once you have the wall plate unit wired up, you can program the thermostat before you actually snap it into the wall plate. I recommend you do it this way and to do so, you will need two AA batteries installed.
The unit is pretty straight forward. If you don't understand anything, call the Help Desk. It works great and will last you for years if you take care of it.
Customer Review: RTH7500D Honeywell Programmable Thermostat
Summary: 5 Stars
This unit is an excellent all around unit for the average install evironment. We have a high efficency gas fired furnace and air conditioning system (Carrier Infinity Furnace circa 2007, 1992 vintage air conditioner). The unit installed quite easily on the existing 4 wire wiring. As we have a 2 stage heating system (with its own smart technology) I was cautious to exploit the 2 stage feature of the furnance and thermostat until I understood how the designed in 'Smart Response Technology' (SRT) of the thermostat worked. So I left the SRT enabled and kept the 4 wire wiring of the furnace in tact. I would suggest that in this configuration this software aspect is more of a selling gimick than a feature. It tracks the temperature rise (of heat for example) over some period of cycles and then adjusts the set back time so that the temperature is actually at the preprogrammed temperature upon, say, morning rise. I tracked it for a few days and found that the furnace was actually turning on around 2 hours before rising. Luckily this feature is defeatable through programming. For all other aspects of the unit I found it to be easily installable, programmmable and its usage features are quite friendly. Some of the 'software' features albiet subtle but are thoughtful. I would recommend this unit for even high efficiency furnances used in a conventional configuration as described.
Honeywell does make another series of units that employ 'Adaptive Inteligent Recovery' which by description is more sophisticated. If you have a 2 stage furnance for example this unit will track temperature over some period of cycles and adjust the cycle up time as the SRT does but with a 5 wire system in place you can hold off the stage 2 firing and operate primarily in the stage 1 mode. Stage 2 would only be enabled under real time demand for heat. One would believe this is a most efficient use of the multistage furnaces. The Carrier Infinity has its own intelligence which after 17 minutes will kick in stage 2 if the return air differential is deemed too cool (I think). I may experiment with the RTH7500D in this operational configuration and may change my mind about the SRT function. Anyone have any other input?
Customer Review: A very good choice, a good product and features
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been meaning to replace my original Bryant thermostat that came with the original one-stage furnace for about a year now. I have not been pleased with the larger temperature fluctuations between heating cycles in the winter (+/-3 degrees or so) when it is really cold. This unit does cycle more often only because it is programmed to keep the nominal temperature to within one degree difference from the setting temp. This keeps a more comfortable average feeling in the house and each cycle is not as long compared to the huff and puff workout the furnace used to make up the 3 degree loss.
Being able to set four settings per day for all 7 days was an added benefit I was willing to pay for. The size of the housing and display is much larger than my original housing but for the added features and display information, I feel it a fair trade-off and am already used to it.
I also wanted to compliment the new Honeywell IAQ True Steam humidifier I personally installed in December to combat the annoying prolonged dryness that is associated with the wacky Ohio winter season, especially at night. This thermostat does not control the humidity setting because I had to stick with the original 5-strand wiring in the wall, otherwise I would have purchased the upgraded Honeywell thermostat that does monitor humidity. Controlling the humidity with a separate humidistat at the furnace is no problem for me.
This thermostat does NOT have a "noisy" and "annoying" click sound others have complained about. It does provide a very subtle click, compared to my silent original stat when cycling on and off, but the Honeywell click sound is in no way a huge distraction.
The install instructions were a snap, it fit my current wall screw positions and the programming was not difficult at all. The back lighting comes in real handy in the dark when adjusting settings or modes, etc. No more squinting from turning on a harsh light in the middle of the night to make sure I still have a GOOD heat setting!
This is a great product. Amazon's lowest price ($15 to $20 less) compared to other online competing prices pushed me over the edge to finally make the purchase...and shipping was free!
Customer Review: Just what I wanted
Summary: 4 Stars
I originally wanted this thermostat but started with the 6400 series because my wife was freezing in the cold weather and our old thermostat was broken.
I installed the 6400 first, and got it at Home Depot at the same price Amazon was offering for the 7500. I would have paid $100 for the 7500 there, but they were out of them.
I ordered this one after I installed the 6400 because I wanted the 7 day programmability, the furnace filter reminder, and I was hoping not to need batteries, but I have a two wire system, so there is no voltage available when the thermostat calls for heat. Thus, I need to have batteries in it.
The furnace wires were pre-tagged, so I didn't need the tags. They included mounting screws and dry wall anchors, but there's a stud behind the thermostat so I didn't need the anchors.
The way to get into the advanced menu is wrong in the instructions. They call for hitting another button, then holding the fan button down for 5 seconds. Other posters say just holding the fan button for 5 seconds is the way to go. I have it programmed for my system (heat only) so there's no reason to revisit it unless we change to a different type of system (furnace plus A/C, or heat pump, etc.) I like the 6400's advanced settings entry better.
I trusted the temperature read out in this thermostat, but my wife didn't so she put a thermometer on top of it, and finally admitted it was correct. For whatever reason, her bathroom is a couple degrees warmer than the hall, even though the bathroom opens onto the hall.
My thermostat's back light comes on as soon as push a button, but the function the button controls has a delay in it, so pushing a button to turn on the light doesn't change anything. I prefer to hit the schedule button because it might take me to the schedule page, but you have to work at it to change any schedule settings.
I thought it was worth $69 when I bought it, and now its come down $15.00. Wish I could have waited.
The furnace seems to run less now than with my now broken (pre-Honeywell thermostat). About the time I notice the furnace is on, it turns off.