Honeywell Home RTH8560D 7 Day Programmable Touchscreen Thermostat

Great Thermostat! I had a 2006 Honeywell Thermostat that wasn't working correctly - it would not call for cooling for a complete cycle, meaning the room was getting too warm. Betting that the old thermostat was malfunctioning, I installed this one and everything appears to be working as expected again. Great value, easy install, battery (3AA, not included) power, easy to setup. I recommend this one.

I purchased this a few months back as a replacement for an older programmable thermostat that had corroded battery terminals, but I just installed it in the last few days. The installation instructions were very clear and the installation went quite smoothly overall. The trickiest part was I needed a COM wire to run this new thermostat without batteries (although batteries are still needed for backup), but I was fortunate that the existing thermostat had some extra unused wires. I just needed to make the COM connection at the HVAC end to have a COM connection for the new thermostat, so it wasn't too difficult. This is a more modern design than the unit that it replaced, so I'm not surprised to find that it has more features to make it more flexible. The touch screen provides access to a good range of menu options, but it didn't seem hard to program, either. I'm very interested in the Automatic Changeover capability which can switch between heating and cooling modes automatically if needed to maintain program temperatures. I think that may be useful in cases when the weather is changing and the need for heating or cooling is not as clear so it's easy to miss changing modes manually. I haven't seen that feature work yet, though. I'm using it in a home workshop area, so appearance is not super important, but it does have a simple and clean appearance, and I consider it a bonus that it displays the relative humidity in addition to the temperature. There is no WiFi connectivity and I chose this model for that reason. If it continues to meet expectations, I plan to replace my other older thermostats with this model.

The overall unit is a nice size. The backlight color is appealing. Numbers and words are easy to read. The temperature setting numbers could be bigger. The room temperature number size is fine. Installation was done professionally. Here's my complaint and why this thermostat did not get 5 stars. There is no detailed, complete User/Owner/Operator Manual included. And that's just not with the unit in package, that includes online searches. Also, Residio customer service was not able to locate a manual for this model (RTH8560D) although they genuinely tried when I called them on the phone (that's why they only got 3 stars). The unit did come with a quick installation and set-up guide. But that document does not take the consumer, step by step, through the process of programing the thermostat. It puzzles me why Honeywell, a respected and trusted name, would not include a manual with their product. Even on-line. I will continue to try and find one for this specific model. If I do, I will update this review (if possible). This model does not have Wi-Fi capability. I did not want Wi-Fi because I was told the power company could control the system through the thermostat and Wi-Fi units are often hacked into. So, I chose the safe route, if all that's true. But I like this model for its size and easy-on-the-eyes backlighting. As installed, it operates our totally new HVAC system very well. I just don't understand how Honeywell dropped the ball by not making a complete, detailed, user manual available, anywhere. We like the thermostat and recommend it if you're considering an upgrade, just be aware that programing and a few other features are not explained in detail in the quick install/set-up guide. We're on our own to figure that out for now. Oh, the price was fair too.

Works great for a location that doesn’t have a dedicated power wire to the unit. Nice programing features

If you have a Honeywell already, it's just "plug and play." Pretty easy to program, no problems after 6 months. Our power company changed to higher rates during peak hours, so this paid for itself in no time.