Honeywell RTH9580WF1005/W1 Smart Wi-Fi 7 Day Programmable Color Touch Thermostat, Works with Amazon Alexa

I installed this to replace an older Honeywell thermostat that was battery powered, controlling a conventional gas heat and electric A/C system. I only had 4 wires and no C-wire, but the Honeywell video (search YouTube for "Honeywell Substitute G-Wire for C-Wire") gave clear instructions on how to repurpose the existing G-wire to use as the C-wire, which supplies power to the thermostat. I had no problems installing this thermostat, it took about 30 minutes. One helpful hint: before removing or changing any of the old wiring to the thermostat or the furnace, use the supplied wire tags and take pictures of the old wiring. This will be very helpful if you do run into any problems. Setting up the WiFi was quite easy, and setting up remote access was no problem. I've tried the web access and the iOS and Android apps, all of which work fine. The thermostat is very easy to use, and the display is very legible. One of the most important features to me is the ability to get email alerts if the house temperature goes outside a certain range. The alerts are set up through the Honeywell web site. If we're traveling in the winter and the furnace fails, I can get an alert and hopefully get the problem fixed before there's any freeze damage. I also really like the ability to set up vacation holds in advance, it's one less thing to remember when departing on a trip, and means the house can be warmed up (or cooled down in summer) by the time we get home. One feature that looks interesting is the "Circulate" fan mode, which runs the fan randomly part of the time to even out the temperature in the house. That feature requires a G-wire, so I can't use it right now; I'm thinking about adding the Venstar Add-A-Wire which allows a 4-wire system to function as a 5-wire system. I'll add to this review if I do that. Update Mar. 4, 2015: I added the Venstar Add-A-Wire a few weeks ago to allow the fan to be controlled independently. I've been using the "Circulate" fan mode on the thermostat, and it does definitely help keep the house at a more even temperature. Update Sept. 4, 2016: the Venstar ACC0410 Add-A-Wire failed after 18 months. I replaced it with the Honeywell THP9045A1023 Wiresaver Wiring Module for Thermostat , which is working well so far, and has simpler wiring since it's designed for use with Honeywell smart thermostats.

I purchased this item to upgrade my older mercury/mechanical based thermostat in my house. My power company was also offering rebates on certain thermostats so I selected this one as Honeywell was an acceptable manufacture (the thermostat's like Nest were not acceptable at the time of the rebate). I also read that this device is Alexa capable as I am currently looking at purchasing it but haven't tried it of course so I can't speak to whether it works with Alexa or not. One downside to this versus Nest is that this device can't learn your habits so you will still have to program your settings. I have a single phase furnace with an a/c unit out back, essentially the most typical upper Midwest set-up as it gets. Anyways after reading reviews, studying how my HVAC unit worked, and looking at both the HVAC motherboard and wires connected to the thermostat I felt that this thermostat was going to work. I went with this particular one because it is programmable and can be used via Wi-Fi (also part of the requirements for the rebate). This thermostat does require a wireless internet connection so make sure you have that before hand. The package came quickly and contained several manuals, how-to and quick studies which were really helpful. The installation was fairly easy and went quickly. I was able to find that my thermostat wires had an extra unused blue one that I used for my new C-Wire. Just to make sure we are on the same page, there are several thermostat wires that are used of which are color coordinated based on whether the system is cooling, heating or using the fan (the colors really start adding up if you have a dual system). Go ahead and search for this online as it is easy to determine what you have, just make sure you follow what is connected where versus what color it is typically used for what so you don't wire the new thermostat incorrectly. This thermostat comes with stickers to help you with this. The C-Wire is needed for this thermostat because there is a touch screen that needs continuous power and without it your thermostat won't even power up. Older mercury/mechanical based thermostat's don't need this and many older programmable thermostat won't either as they are battery fed (this thermostat is not battery fed). Typically your motherboard located within your thermostat will contain a C-Wire nut of which you can attach a new thermostat wire too. My first tip on installation would be to first pull your old thermostat off the wall and look for an used wire and for that same wire on the motherboard side. If you don't have one you can either pull a new set of wires (my suggestion) or go online to look at the common ways to convert one of your wires to be the new C-Wire. Of course safety first so before installing make sure the power is off. Feel free to ask me questions below. At the end of the day I am glad I purchased this as the product as it has run smoothly since installation. The only minor thing to note is early on the device would shut off and back on but I have read that this is the product updating so don't be to worried if this happens.

Works great. Although it works with a four wire connection to the furnace, without the fan control, I wanted full fan remote control so I changed the four wire connection to an 18/5 wire. Had to get the furnace guy to do the furnace connection everything else was just as described on youtube, good clear instructions. Also, the unit was a little smaller than the old unit I replaced so I had to do some wall replace, anyways it's time to paint the whole wall, it's been 8 years since it was painted. Looks great at night with the backlight, may change the default colour when I paint again.

Installed it one month ago. Works really well. Being able to change background colors is a nice feature.

Sent it back. Bought an EcoBee.

Easy to control using app. Great for people who travel.

Works OK, easy to operate. After paying for it online (I thought final price) Canada Post charged me extra $40 at the door (duty & processing fee) then all savings were gone!!!