The Honeywell RTH7600D Touchscreen 7 Day Programmable Thermostat is excellent value at under $70. It is almost identical to the more expensive Honeywell RTH8500D (over $100). There are only two differences between the programmable thermostats. The first is that the touchscreen is slightly smaller on the RTH7600D and secondly, there is no vacation hold mode on the Honeywell RTH7600D.

The Honeywell RTH76500D is an Energy Star approved thermostat that is backed by a 1 year warranty. It is accurate to +/- 1 degree Fahrenheit and is compatible with up to 2 stages of heating and cooling and multi stage heat pumps. It can also regulate air-con units, hot water and gas. As with all Honeywell thermostats installation is easy if you read the manual first and programming is done via intuitive, menu style choices. The touchscreen is very responsive and has a green backlight. The only complaint made about this model is that to turn on the backlight you have to press the touchscreen. This turns on the backlight but also starts a program change that you then need to cancel.

Functions found on the Honeywell RTH7600D include smart recovery (to pre-heat or pre-cool a room), auto change (automatically switches between heating and cooling) and temporary hold. There is a filter change warning and a battery change warning. Because you can hardwire the thermostat to run off the HVAC power you can eliminate the use of batteries.

Furthermore, the Honeywell RTH7600D features a real time display that keeps track of time changes due to daylight saving. It also keeps your settings during a power outage.

There is a program slot for each day of the week and 4 periods to set up per day. For added convenience you can take the thermostat off the wall and program it from the comfort of your armchair or sofa.

Considering you can change your settings in the event you go away on holiday quite simply, the loss of vacation mode is not a big issue. Not having swing control is a bigger concern but the Honeywell RTH7600D tries to compensate for this by setting limits on the amount of cycles the HVAC performs per hour.

If you want a powerful programmable thermostat at a bargain price then it is worth considering the Honeywell RTH7600D.

• 7 Day Programmable Thermostat + 4 Periods Per Day
• Auto change-over (automatically changes between heating and cooling)
• Smart Response (pre-heats and pre-cools room)
• Runs off HVAC (batteries not needed)
• Temporary Hold
• Compatible with 2 stage heating and 2 stage cooling; and heat pumps with auxiliary heat
• Intuitive touchscreen programming
• Real Time Clock keeps track of daylight saving
• Keeps settings even after power outage
• Accurate to +/- 1°F
• Energy Star approved + 1 Year Warranty

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