Customer Reviews

Honeywell TH8110U1003 Vision Pro 8000 Digital Thermostat

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

First, if you know anything about installing thermostats, it's no harder than any other. In other words, there are 4-7 colored wires, and you have to put them in the right place. That's it.

Now, for the thermostat, it is just beyond good. From the easy programming to the flexibility of the options, to the FULL AUTO mode so you never have to worry about switching from heat to cool again, it's a set and forget job. And the options for temp and holiday hold, the circulation feature that keeps your whole house more constant, etc. Great.

Remember, this is a single stage model, but there are slightly more expensive versions for multi-stage setups, so choose the right one. Most people will be fine with the 8110. Even if you live in an apartment or a rental, buy this, install it, save money, be more comfortable, then put the old one back before you move out. it's worth it.

I have purchased 4 of these in 2 houses- and like the thermostat- BUT- one of the last ones I purchased has a flakey touchscreen. You really have to push and push to get it to recognize a command. When calling Honeywell (twice)- I learned- they won't honor any warranty directly with the customer. You must have a contractor come out to get it replaced.

So- you could buy a new one for $100- or pay for 2 service calls to get yours fixed under warranty. In other words- there is no warranty if you install it yourself. I'm irritated by this and wouldn't buy another product from them now...

Easy set up, just make sure you read all of the installation instructions. Some of the features the thermostat has are not active out of the box and require you to turn them on. The thermostat it self is very easy to use and program. I now have more control than I ever did and am able to keep the house at a comfortable level all the time. It is nice to never have to mess with the thermostat and the Auto Changeover feature is great! It heats the house in the morning and cools it during the day. One other feature I found handy is a circulation feature on the fan. It will run the fan 35% of the time to keep the air in the house moving. If you are thinking about purchasing a new thermostat get this one, you will be happy.

The Verdict

I replaced my old mercury filled round thermostat(you know the type) about six months ago. I've found this product to be both a solid, easy to install product and a good value. For those reasons I'd recommend it for anyone who's considering a thermostat in this price range.


Installation

This thermostat was straightforward to install. It included diagrams for several types of furnaces on which it might be installed, and I'm guessing it's fairly comprehensive, since it worked without issues on what looks like the no-name furnace in my garage. The wires just pop right into the circuit board on the back, and the unit mounts easily on the wall.


Operation

The touch screen is also easy to operate. It's intuitive and simple, somewhat of an accomplishment for a device with so many capabilities. With all the features it has, you can spend a lot of time programming it, so the other nice-to-have feature with this unit is that it can be removed from the wall without tools and programmed anywhere you'd like to take it. This way, you can sit in a comfortable chair instead of standing in the hallway.


Value

When I was shopping around, I also found this to be an excellent price for similar thermostats. You should find the same thing when you start looking around.


Additional Considerations

If you have the same type of thermostat I used to have and think this is too expensive for your home, then consider the benefits I experienced. Some of them might change your mind about how worthwhile this expense could be:


Increased comfort for about the same amount of money

My old thermostat came without even a switch to leave the fan running on the furnace to constantly circulate air. With this thermostat, I'm able to hold the temperature constant throughout the house and keep it stable over time by running the fan all the time. This results in a higher electric bill for me, because I'm using the fan more, but it also lowers my gas bill because the furnace is heating air less. The net result is that it costs me about the same amount of money to live in a significantly more comfortable house.


One less toxic chemical in your house

Did you know those old thermostats still have mercury switches? When I took the cover off my thermostat, I saw the little glass bubble full of mercury swishing around inside. I'm a reasonable person, and I'm reasonably sure that the mercury is perfectly safe so long as that glass bubble remains airtight. Now that I have kids, though, I can't always prevent them from running down the hall with a mop or something and getting highly toxic heavy metals all over my floor. There just isn't a good excuse for people to be keeping bubbles of mercury sitting around in their houses anymore. If I really, really want to have mercury in my house, the FDA says I can just buy some deep water fish like tuna or swordfish.


Additional savings from programmability

One of the other reasons I'm probably able to do well on my energy bill is that this thermostat, unlike my old one, is very programmable. It allows me to select four different periods for each day, and to set the temperature for each period. I can set the temperature down in sweater territory when nobody's home, and have the home comfortable again by the time I return, but still leave things toasty all day on the weekends when I'm typically home with my family.


Furnace filter change reminder

Maybe you're not like me. Maybe you always remember to dutifully change your furnace filter on an exact regular schedule, and this filter change is just so critical to your happiness in life that you look forward to filter changing day. You may even have a special reminder on your computer, or mark it on the calendar you make a special point of reading every single day.

I'm just not like that. I forget that my filter gets dirty, which lowers air flow and makes the fan work harder, which in turn raises my electric bill. That's not a problem for me anymore with this thermostat. It has a reminder feature that counts down a few preset numbers of days, then flashes a message on its screen when it's time for you to change the filter.

For me, that's more convenient because I'm typically at the computer in my office when my mail client reminds me of things like this. By the time I get home after a long day at the office, that little reminder to change my filter typically gets lost in the hectic haze of everyday life. With the reminder on the thermostat, though, I can stare, bleary eyed at the display for a few minutes. When it hits me that the screen is telling me to change the filter, I can trudge out to the garage and get it done with minimal mental effort. It's a good match between what I've got to give at the end of the day, and what I need to give.


(I hope)increased resale value

I think these thermostats look great, and I think most people would agree with me. I also think potential home buyers will include "most people" by the time I'm ready to sell, and that this thermostat's modern but reserved design will still be attractive when that time comes.

It really does add something to the feel of a house when the homeowner upgrades smaller details like the thermostat. Things like that tell a buyer you've done more than just touch up a few cosmetic issues before selling - it says that you've really been caring for a house that's overall in better condition than a similar house without those touches.

When it comes time for me to move, I'm expecting to get the price of this thermostat back, so it's more of an investment than an expense. Of course, chances are I'll be investing the same money into a new thermostat for my next house, since I just can't live without it now.


Conclusion

In conclusion, I've only experienced one problem with it since I installed it, but I actually suspect that the furnace is to blame. Sadly, since I can't easily tell for sure, I have to play it safe and only award the product four stars. The display has occasionally gone dark on me even though I set it up to be constantly backlit. Considering all the advantages I listed above, though, I have no regrets about my purchasing decision. If anyone else can tell you that the problem I experienced was definitely due to the furnace, then consider this a five-star review for an excellent product.

Our office had 6 thermostats - all different. They were all difficult or impossible to program and with 50% hike in Natural Gas prices expected, I talked the boss into buying these. It took about an hour to install and program all 6 t'stats. It was extremely easy and the programming is so intuitive I only had to look at the manual once - to set it up for two program periods instead of 4 - not something you'd need in a private home. This thermostat is first class! That is why I am ordering two more for my own home this week!!!

This is replacing a Carrier Totaline non-programmable fully-auto thermostat on my basic gas heat/AC HVAC. I originally purchased a Honeywell RTH7600D1006 and was extremely disappointed with it, you can see my scathing review on this site. It lacked backlight control and was extremely difficult to program.

In contrast this unit is excellent. One quick reference to the manual is all you need to get started programming it as the user interface is extremely intuitive and well laid out. You can program each day individually, multi-select days, review the programming without editing it, and on and on.

Some features this unit has that made me purchase it:

* Circulation fan control where it runs the fan 35% of the time whether the heat/AC is on or not. Seems like a feature that will help keep the temperature consistent throughout all of the rooms the HVAC services.
* Fully automatic changeover so it turns on the heat or cool for you by itself. Note you have to set this via the special installer codes covered in the manual (like all of the features not related to programming or changing the heat)
* Controllable backlight. You can configure it so there's always a low-level backlight on so you can actually see the unit in the dark.

Note this particular unit does NOT include the humidity control. That's found in the more expensive unit. But it seems like a reasonable feature to consider if you live in humid environments.

The only behaviour this unit has that I do *NOT* like, and the only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5, is that it makes an audible "pop" noise when switching the HVAC on/off. It's not extremely loud but my Carrier thermostat didn't make any noise and was totally silent.

This was an upgrade from a 5-2 programable thermostat. The 7 day programability is a great option for that house with varried schedules, like ours. It took 15 minutes to install and about the same to program - worked great first time. This thing is loaded with options that we'll likely never use, but some might. A nice feature is being able to remove the unit from the wall for programing. We've had it for about three months now and it works flawlessly. The touch screen is cool and works great. The backlight is powerful - makes programing in a darkened room quite easy. Temporary temperature adjustments are easy ... using the unit is quite intuitive, even for my technophobic wife. All in all, a great unit.

Of course, we all know that real men don't need heat, and even if you do, you ought to be fine with a lever, a spring, and a vial of mercury. So I felt a little silly ordering this. But once I got over that, I realized that this is a truly great thermostat. Here's why:

1: It's confusing - anything except a temporary override requires several screens and sequences of commands. It's enough to deter even the most determined women, who are undoubtedly trying to make the place into some kind of "heat nest".

2: It's lockable! That's right, you can lock everyone out from modifying the thermostat! And even if you don't want to go that far, you can set limits on what the temperature can be set to. Awesome!

3: And this is the best one of all.... You can program it to show a different temperature than the actual temperature!!! For obvious reasons, this is the best feature ever built into any thermostat since the dawn of time. It takes some digging to get through the manuals to figure out how to do it, but it's worth it. Here's how a conversation about an actual temperature of 68 degrees might go:

Woman: "Honey, it's awfully cold in here, can we turn up the heat?"

Man: "It's already 85 degrees in here."

Woman: "It can't be... (gets up and checks thermostat)... Hmmph, I guess you're right."

Man: "Maybe you should take some more thyroid medicine. And while you're up, make me a sandwich."

Ask yourself - does it really get any better than that?

As much as I love this thermostat, it could be improved by having some sort of fingerprint scanner, or retina ID device on it, allowing only certain people access to the thermostat. But since no competing models yet offer this feature, this is about as good as it gets for keeping YOUR castle at YOUR temperature.

Despite daunting installation instructions, including the admonition that only trained professionals should do the installation, actual installation was very easy. A peek behind my old thermostat revealed just 4 wires - red, white, green, yellow, each connected to a terminal labeled R, W, G and Y respectively. This Honeywell unit has the same color terminal designations. The hardest part turned out to be ensuring, for esthetic reasons, that I installed the case level since the top edge is slightly curved.
Ease of set up and programming was impressive.

This is a very smart thermostat! It's set back function allows you to select multiple cycles, and it does not come on when you indicate, it determines over the course of time how long it needs to run in order to reach the target temperature at that time. Also allows the use of remote sensor(s).