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 bought two of these for the two zoned air-conditioning system in my home last year during summer.They worked almost flawlessly for a few months ago. (almost flawlessly because the LCD display of one of the units was showing some signs of being affected by cold temperature and showing erratic data when the temperature dropped to 50F or so.)The programming is a breeze and couldn't be simpler. The customer service helpline requires you to leave a message in case you need assistance and they respond after 24 hrs or so. I called them during the installation as the wiring color for one wire in my previous Honeywell unit was different and caused some confusion. Other than that, the installation was done in less than 5 minutes. I am a handy man myself so the time may not be representative of someone not used to working with such things.One feature which is sorely missing in it is the capability to program for vacations! I had to leave the house vacant for over two weeks and couldn't program it for that. I know a higher priced version of this unit has this feature and many other bells & whistles too which are quite useless.Second missing feature is the lowest temperature setting available. The unit can only be reduced to 45F which is a strange number. To prevent freezing damage, I believe 40F should suffice as water freezes at 32F under most conditions. In my view, the lowest setting available should be 40F as there is enough safety margin to avoid freezing.UPDATE - HORRIBLE RELIABILITYBoth thermostats failed within weeks of one another before the start of the next summer. One repeatedly failed to start the heating despite dropping 7F below the set point, the other one repeatedly failed to stop the cooling despite overshooting the set point by 5F. I contacted Lux and they sent a replacement unit. I have serious doubts about the reliability of these units now. Will report back about any surprises later.A much cheaper ($10) programmable thermostat is available at Home Depot, its called Rite-Temp. It has more programming option than this Lux thermostat and less than half the price.

I have an older cabin (1972) with a forced air gas heat-only furnace. It is old enough that the thermostat is a two-wire mercury type. I was worried I wouldn't be able to replace it with something more modern - but I took a chance on the TX500E working.It turned out to be easy-breezy. The wiring instructions were clear, the mounting was nicely engineered and the programming was generally easier than others I've used (because you can program weekday and weekend separately using the dial instead of having to step through weekdays then weekends).The next morning, the heater started exactly at 5:30am like I told it and I woke up to a warm house without wasting power all night long.Do note, this is a battery powered (non-AC) version and the batteries are not included. Had they been, this would have been a 5-star review.