...battery-powered now??

is it too much to ask that a sub-$50 programmable thermostat run off of 110v/24v or whatever that is?

IMO it's not very intuitive. Yeah, I bought my Honeywell knowing that it takes 2 AA batteries, but I figured they were backup batteries (like a wired-in fire alarm). It looks like this has become the norm.

10/28/2012 11:04:36 AM

The batteries in mine last about 2-3 years before I have to change them.

10/28/2012 11:27:29 AM

mine didn't last 2 months

10/28/2012 11:37:25 AM

I've lived here for 5 years and have only replaced the batteries once shortly after moving in

10/28/2012 7:14:45 PM

Are you using decent AA's or those cheapo hardware store ones? There's a pretty huge difference in capacity (like 3-4x).

11/1/2012 10:24:40 AM

Mine runs on nothing but AA batteries and it is wireless so it has to communicate with my Equipment Interface Module (and obviously uses more battery than a standard battery-operated but non-wireless thermostat) and the battery life most people said they saw was 2-3 years based on forum posts I read on my model before buying it. So far I am 18 months in or something and I've had no problems.

However, I do agree that if it isn't a wireless thermostat, and thus you already have your wire bundle coming from the unit that most likely has 120V power wiring in it, I am not sure why they would't default to that and just use batteries as a backup.

[Edited on November 1, 2012 at 11:17 AM. Reason : ]

11/1/2012 11:15:53 AM

use plain old grocery store brand alkaline batterys. they suck at every characteristic EXCEPT holding a charge over a long period of time. perfect for sticking in little apliances like your thermostat. if you want it to last longer, nigger rig a D-cell up in that motherfucker. u can hang it down by the soldered wire in the wall behind the sheet rock, lol. should last years.

11/1/2012 11:16:40 AM

For most of these, the batteries are optional and just provide backup power assuming that they were wired into the low voltage.

He's an example:
http://yourhome.honeywell.com/home/Products/Thermostats/7-Day-Programmable/RTH7600D.htm

11/1/2012 11:34:17 AM

I will never have another battery powered thermostat again. Signal to turn on heat was sent to gas pack, thermostat batteries unexpectedly died, heater continued to run because no kill signal was sent to it until I arrived home. It was ~90 degrees in my house. Luckily came home early that day or I would have been worried about the health of my dog.

11/1/2012 11:50:33 AM

http://www.nest.com

11/1/2012 11:58:59 AM

^^ That's why you're supposed to hardwire a return duct sensor to your EIM with minimum and maximum limits to prevent your unit from continuing to run. They either come with or can be bought fairly cheap along with the thermostat. I believe all of Honeywell's battery-only units come standard with this sensor.

That being said, I haven't installed mine yet

[Edited on November 1, 2012 at 12:27 PM. Reason : ]

11/1/2012 12:22:41 PM

mine are hard wired

11/1/2012 1:18:25 PM

^^^heard the Nest sucks

plus I'm looking to spend under $60

Quote :

"For most of these, the batteries are optional and just provide backup power assuming that they were wired into the low voltage."

Actually, Honeywell is the worst offender for being battery-only. In the manual to the one you linked, you don't use the "C" wire (blue) anymore, and "C" is your "common" (neutral)

11/1/2012 4:47:49 PM

Quote :

"use plain old grocery store brand alkaline batterys. they suck at every characteristic EXCEPT holding a charge over a long period of time. perfect for sticking in little apliances like your thermostat. if you want it to last longer, nigger rig a D-cell up in that motherfucker. u can hang it down by the soldered wire in the wall behind the sheet rock, lol. should last years."

If you know how to solder or have access to a resource (someone) that does, then just make a full wave rectifier out of 4 diodes, capacitor, a couple resistors, and a fuse (don't forget the fuse ). It'd be a ~$3 project. Then find a 120 power source, splice in AC->DC converter, voila.


[Edited on November 1, 2012 at 8:04 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on November 1, 2012 at 8:04 PM. Reason : .]

11/1/2012 8:03:30 PM