I'm having a guy come look at my HVAC system and while he's here I'd like to have him replace my thermostats with programmable ones. I'd rather choose the thermostat ahead of time so I can get exactly what I want and not have to settle for whatever he has on his truck at the time.

The guy told me I need to get a 24V 2 stage heat / 1 stage cooling thermostat. If I have a 2-zone system do I need a special thermostat to handle that or does the zone controller take care of that?

Also, what sites sell thermostats online besides big-box hardware stores?

Currently installed: White-Rodgers 1F79

Replace with: Honeywell RTH7500D?

8/21/2009 9:47:17 PM

I have that unit but in full touch screen mode, and I ordered it online at a 20-30% discount to the box stores.

It's super easy to swap out if your wires are colored, and I imagine if your house is newer they will be.

I dunno about dual zone, I was always under the impression that dual zone homes had 2 thermostats controlling the zones.

8/21/2009 9:51:43 PM

I thought each zone had its own thermostat as well. And it is easy as long as the wires are colored. If they aren't, theres some trial and error that goes on (probably not the best thing to do).

Got a similar Honeywell one a few years ago and installed it, took a few tries to get the wires right (older house, none of the diagrams exactly lined up with the colors of the wires). Got it from Home Depot after seeing what I wanted and waiting for it to go on sale, so can't help with online stores.

8/21/2009 11:44:53 PM

get a basic one. i have one of teh time programmable ones and its a nightmare once it gets offset or you decide to change the temp you wan you have to go through each time or some crazy shit or it will just start having a mind of its own and then you just decide to turn it off then your house gets freezing cold until you spend an hour to reprogram every time only to have it obsolete once you change your mind.

8/22/2009 12:46:13 AM

8/22/2009 1:03:51 AM

EBKAC?

8/22/2009 1:15:55 AM

^^^ probably has a terrible one. programmable thermostats are awesome and Honeywell is definitely a solid brand. I hate having to use the standard/old fashioned one in this apt.

[Edited on August 22, 2009 at 4:07 PM. Reason : ]

8/22/2009 4:07:12 PM

I ordered the above. Hopefully they're not the wrong thing. If they are, I can probably get close to what I paid reselling them (best retail price I found is $89).

8/22/2009 5:48:41 PM

http://www.ecobee.com/

don't have one but want one

Access via Wi-Fi.

8/22/2009 8:16:40 PM

I saw some you could access over the internet. Not worth it IMO.

8/22/2009 9:35:29 PM

the carrier infinity system offers that

8/23/2009 8:43:05 PM

Quote :

"It's super easy to swap out if your wires are colored, and I imagine if your house is newer they will be."

I've swapped out a few and never had a problem. My house is from 75 and the colors matched.
If not, just write down how the colors match up to the thermostat they're connected to before you disconnect the old one. Pretty simple task.

8/23/2009 11:09:06 PM

Installed and working... YAY

8/26/2009 8:41:08 PM