Robertshaw 9701i2 24-Volt AC 1 Heat / 1 Cool Deluxe Programmable Thermostat, SPDT

I have installed many thermostats and have electronics and wiring experience so with that in mind understand my view. First off, some very important points. This unit has internal configuration memory like a computer that does not disappear when the power is removed. The time and date and daily operation power comes from the 24V transformer in your heating/cooling system, NOT internal batteries. There are no internal batteries to replace. To get the 24V to run it, your thermostat cable wiring must a C (common) connection wire which is to one side of the 24V transformer, while the usual other side of the transformer is R connection. Battery operated thermostats do not use the C wire though they may have an optional connection for it just to hold the wire. If you do not have a C connection there is no jumpers or any tricks so don't even think about it. Based on your heating/cooling system, you many have more wires than others (let say you have two stage etc. for the 2 stage version of this) In some cases you may have an un-used wire in the cable that can be connected at the transformer (really a connection block) at your system. Doing this is over the head of most homeowners so I do not suggest it. Bottom line you need a C wire connection to power it. In my case I had a spare wire I could use, and did. Please note that the colors of your wires may not match the color codes that is why they have you label them as they are on your old one, and you really do not know what unused wires are.I feel his thermostat is really targeted to professional installers not home owners. Some installs can be complicated for many based on the system. Also any programmable thermostat can confuse the homeowner. Honeywell thermostats are simpler to install and are more current in design and understand the programming and are stronger built.OK, then why would you want to buy this thermostat? The reason is that it has a feature no others have - programmable fan. Other brands you can set to ON, or auto, or in the more expensive models allow extra random fan running time when the compressor is not on. The fan setting works even when the thermostat is set to off (no cool, no heat). This model will let you set each time event to have on, auto or intermittent, with intermittent being further configured to be XX minutes on, and XX minutes off. The reason why you do this is to further circulate air to better balance out the temperature among the rooms. It takes a lot of thinking to get this right but it is wonderful. In my case, I have a one zone HV AC system using this thermostat. Some parts of the house are warmer and this helps me get them closer. I have to admit that the more I get used to the way this is programmed the more I like it and easier it seems.This thermostat also allows for a wired remote sensor that can be used to average out the temperature between the one in it and the additional sensor,. But note it is WIRED not wireless. In addition you can program for events how you want it used, average or either one. I might add the sensor after I get used to the thermostat.The installation instructions failed to mention or show that after you pop open the case with a screwdriver at the 4 points to install the wall plate, the units has two boards that are connected by one connector. I could not see anyway to wire it up without popping the two boards apart by pulling them apart to be able to see and gain access to the connector blocks. This has to be done carefully and straight. If there was a way, it was way easier to pull them apart to work easily as it was awkward. So then after making the connections I pressed them together at the connector, which seems to be the only thing that holds the boards together. You have to be careful as not to bend the connector pins. Then the whole thing snaps on the part you installed on the wall carefully noting the 2 pairs of sensor connector pins on the board that push into the connector on the part of the wall. If you wonder where C grade average student designers get to work now you know. This is really quite inelegant design. It may have been necessary with the large number of components on the boards due the progamability and all the info displayed. There are much more points to make a mistake than with a Honeywell thermostat.The LED screen is blueish which at first I did not care for but grew to like, not as easy to read as a Honeywell in my opinion, but it is configurable for brightness when static and when being used along with contrast.It also show a lot of information in different text sizes and with animated icons. If this is used in a bedroom, note that the blue light might keep you awake even at low brightness - a Honeywell generates no light in all the models I have seen in this price range. If the the power goes out for more than two hours, you loose the time and date (which is easy) and the schedule will then be off once power is restored until you set the time and date again. You do not lose the configuration. After the 2 hours the screen is just off.This unit is VERY configurable, with the schedule and does so many things well. I suggest downloading the manual before purchasing. Even if you have a C connection, if a Honeywell will do the job for you, I would get that for most self-installers. The buttons and plastic on this unit felt a little cheap, though the buttons are not really used much when you are happy with the configuration.The install,many will not be comfortable with, but it took me no time to install it because of my experience. Because it is so configurable, it gets more somewhat complicated than others, but once you are used to it vs a Honeywell, it really is not bad. For many people, programmable thermostats are too complicated so read the manuals of the ones you are thinking about.All this said I like it and the program ability is fantastic. The more I use it the more familiar and easy it becomes. Just recently I put in temporary hold to make it cooler for awhile and I got to say exactly what time to go back to the regular schedule. It also displayed that is was on hold and until when. I think coming from having mostly Honeywell units it seemed a little complicated but that is because it does so much. I really started to love it . But it something happened to me, my wife would have to get a simple non-programmable one as it is just much more than she would want to deal with, be it any brand or model, not just this one. Am I happy I bought this, yes as I needed it do better balance out the rooms. My return which is between floor 1 and floor 2 was 5-6 degrees cooler than the top room of the house. Running the fan in intermittent, I was able to cool down the top room with the air near the return without the compressor running, thus balancing it better to 2-3 degrees average based on the direction of the sun on the house. I am still making adjustments and I may add the remote sensor. Multilevel houses with one zone are never balanced but this thermostat can help balance it if the return area and areas around the return are lower temps than the highest room that heat rises to. I am of course discussing AC only. I just decided to also add the remote sensor to see how that works out.Tech support is to nice USA people, vs overseas (at least it seems that way) of others that are hard to understand.If you are not handy with wiring and don't like programming things, don't try to understand or install this. Save yourself, the supplier, and company from pain.For me, I am very happy with this unit and would buy it again in a flash. The more I use it, I realize I like it more and more. One star was taken away mostly for the fact of the two boards and it not mentioned in the instructions. See my photos.

5 Year Update!!!After over 5 years of owning two of these thermostats in a dual unit two story setup, it still was one of the best upgrades I made! My house shows up at a 7-10 on energy efficiency all year round in AZ for 5+ years! I just moved to a new home and purchased another unit and remote for this home because these were so perfect.The C/Common wire is required and this does not mean the Rc wire will work. It may power on, but will not operate anything and probably power off depending on what you do. I got lucky and the last home it was already there, however for this home it is not. Not hard to run, but definitely something to be aware of.I will say this setup is more for professionals and the novice/seasoned DIY may not have such a pleasant install experience unless things are already there. Otherwise you will need some good research and handyman skills. This does not retract from the rating because any install like this should have some expectation of hassle if you're not a professional.Original Review:With this unit and the remote sensor (had to purchase that elsewhere since they don't carry it here) I confirmed that there is a 2-7 degree difference between the main unit and my room. With the heater or AC running it could be up to 15 degrees before the main unit reaches temp. In the summer I'd freeze till the AC shutoff, then I'd roast till it kicked on. The same thing with the winter. It really killed my sleep...Now I got this unit and the remote sensor running, and the unit runs about 1/4 as often and keeps everything nice and comfy. Since it monitors one room, the other rooms are roughly the same distance as is so it keeps them nice as well. I set it with the 2 degree difference and it's perfect. It's highly accurate as well. It will register a change if you breathe on it. I'm also a tech guy but this thing is incredibly easy to operate. It's all straight English, and very easy to use. As long as you have a 3rd grade vocabulary, and have pressed something with buttons before, you can use this. I'm actually looking forward to my AC bill in the summer here in AZ! Seriously this is one of the most needed upgrades I've put in the house and it will pay for itself within the next year or two and then pay me back years to come.

We needed a thermostat that could provide three periods of heat per day (so-called six events). Most programmable thermostats only handle two heat periods, morning and evening. This was the ONLY one I could find -- after several hours of searching -- that could do three heating periods.I'm completely satisfied with this thermostat. Besides supporting three heating periods, the controls and menus are clear and easy to use (compared with the touch-screen Honeywell model it replaces). In addition, it's powered by the thermostat wiring, so there are no batteries to replace. It comes with a good manual and clear installation instructions; I was able to install it myself in just 20 minutes.It's clear that someone put a lot of careful thought into the entire user experience. That was a very pleasant surprise after our experience with the Honeywell. It actually took three of us several days to figure out how to set up the Honeywell unit; the instructions were unclear and the "UI" involved looking up and typing in various obscure numerical codes.This is well-designed product. Easy to set up, easy to use, and with useful features (including some some we may use later on, such as the ability to use an external sensor).

Easy to install and set up, pretty user-friendly. I had to adjust the dead-band (temperature "drift" from set point) on the temperature, as it was cycling on and off too much. It is kind of bright, but it's a soft blue. Would be nice if you could adjust the back light to only come on when you needed . Relative to other thermostats with similar features, I think it is a bit pricey. All in all, it does the job.