Lux Products TX500E Smart Temp Programmable Thermostat

The cheap (round) Honeywell thermostat that I installed a year ago never did work properly. I have hot water heat / radiators and the temperature in the house would fluctuate at least 7-8 degrees. I went looking for a replacement and a friend told me about this Lux unit. I'm not interested in programmable units, but I like this one because it has a 'swing' option. The swing option allows you to set the thermostat to turn the furnace on and off in quicker rotations (I have mine set to 1). The temperature in my house now only fluctuates 1 degree!There is an override option that allows you to temporarily set the temperature differently than the programed settings. Keep in mind that the override only works until the next programmed session starts! I didn't realize this when I first installed it - I came home and the house was at 71 degrees! (The default programmed settings are low 62 and high 70).There is also a 'hold' option that will indefinitely hold the temperature at whatever temp you want; had I read all the instructions prior to installation, I would have known this! This is the setting that I currently use, however, I did change all the programmed settings to a more manageable temperature in case somehow the hold option gets turned off.Programming the unit is simple (if you desire to program it) and installation is relatively easy. The hardest part was getting the wires under the screw, behind the plastic cover (you'll see what I mean). That's not to say that installation was difficult at all - it may have taken me 15 min!Display is easy to read and there's a 'check filter' option (which I obviously won't need). 2 AA batteries needed and are not included.All in all, this is a great unit and well worth the money...especially if you have a hot water boiler system. (I'm sure it works just as well for forced air.)

These thermostats are fantastic. I've been using a bunch of them (for different zones, in different houses) for years. I even threw away a $200+ piece of junk that some contractor had talked me into, so that I could replace it with one of these -- and it was one of the smartest moves I ever made. Not only do they do everything they're supposed to do (something that the $200+ one, astoundingly, couldn't pull off), but they do it all so INTUITIVELY that it makes you smile. And they're wonderfully designed -- an elegantly understated, neutrally colored little box, with the everyday controls right out on the front and the more specialized ones discreetly hidden behind a small swinging door. (Which door, by the way, opens and closes effortlessly. You think that goes without saying? I have an in-the-wall clock-timer -- from another company, of course -- with a similar little door that [a] can be opened only by inserting into its tiny slot the pointy end of a "church-key" can-opener, and [b] then doesn't stay closed unless you slam it into place.) Changing their batteries takes five seconds -- by far the easiest, most sensible battery-changing procedure I've ever encountered anywhere. These things, in short, would be a great deal at two or three times their price. They belong in a design museum.

I've had an earlier version of this thermostat. It functioned well. Because of that, I purchased this one. The installation was clearly explained and the unit functions well. The only con that I have, in comparison to the older one, is the older one constantly showed the actual temperature and the set temperature with two read outs, this one has one numerical indicator, so, the current temperature is always visible, in order to see what your setting is you have to open the panel door and click a button to see your setting. it then flashes your setting for several seconds where the actual room temperature is.This unit has been in place for about 1 month, no problems so far. It has been functioning as advertised with both heating and cooling.It's small and compact and fairly easy to operate.