The Honeywell brand is a well-recognized one in the thermostat business, thanks partly to its 75-year longevity and running and to its outstanding products. Even with the advent of smart thermostats with their bells and whistles, the company has kept up with the competition, offering leading products like the Honeywell RTH9585 Wi-Fi Smart.
This is a far cry from the previously released Lyric, a functional thermostat with a sexy design that isn’t as a standout as we hoped it would be. We even consider the Honeywell RTH9585 as a worthy competitor to the Nest Learning Thermostat 3rd generation, the best in the industry, as far as we are concerned. This Honeywell thermostat will hold its own as a strong, sturdy and functional workhorse for your home.
Honeywell RTH9585WF Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat
Keep in mind that this is a smart thermostat, so there are a few steps to be done for its installation and setup, beyond the usual knob-and-dial-turning. But this is also the reason why it’s such a worthwhile buy, especially when your current thermostat is already on its last leg.
Responsive touchscreen
The unit itself is among the sleekest and smallest in the market – once mounted on a wall, it has less than an inch of protrusion. It blends in well with the rest of a modern home’s appliances, too, a must since nobody wants a thermostat to look dated.
But it’s the beautifully-designed, user-responsive touchscreen that immediately catches attention, thanks in part to the wealth of information it displays. The information includes indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, as well as thermostat status and settings. The display itself can be set according to your preferences in color, shade and brightness so you can easily see the information.
Comes with free apps
The free companion app works with Android devices, as well as with the iPhone and iPad, a standard feature in the latest smart home gadgets. You can access the thermostat from your devices, as well as from the official Honeywell website, no matter where you may be in your home or in the country.
With the remote access, you can program it so that you will come home to a warm or cool house depending on the weather conditions, as well as manage the comfort level and energy usage in your home.
The app also gives email alerts about deviations that should be addressed as soon as possible, such as higher or lower temperature and/or humidity than the chosen settings, commands failing to reach the unit, and lost connections with the Honeywell servers. You will also be notified when normal conditions have returned so you can rest easy wherever you are, thermostat-wise, as well as be reminded about filter changes.
We also like the narrower temperature swing range in this Honeywell thermostat: +/- 1 degrees in comparison with the +/- 3 degrees in a Nest thermostat.
Plenty of smart energy-saving features
The true measure of any smart thermostat is in its energy-saving features, and the Honeywell RTH9585 is definitely among the best in this regard. This is one of the digital thermostats that can be used for residential and commercial purposes because of its programmable settings, including smart scheduling features.
If you’re using it for your business, you can choose a temperature setting for different times of the day, as well as for when the premises are occupied or not. Your staff and customers will then not be exposed to too hot or too cold temperatures while in your business place, a must for health reasons, as well as for keeping your customers’ loyalty. You will also observe energy savings over time, since the thermostat will turn on and off, depending on the energy usage requirements.
But that isn’t all as the thermostat also has a learning capacity – it learns the cycle times for your heating and cooling needs so that it can deliver on the right temperature and humidity, when you need it. By the time you arrive at your home or business, the thermostat has already started the process of heating up or cooling down your place.
Compatible with most systems
The thermostat is compatible with most HVAC systems, including, but not limited to, heating only, cooling only, central air conditioning, warm air furnace, steam or gravity systems, hot water, single stage and multi-stage heating and cooling systems. While it also works with most heat pumps, it isn’t compatible with heat pumps with electric baseboard heat.
A C-wire is required for the installation of the thermostat. If you don’t know what a c wire is or if you have one avalable at your thermostat mounting location, please read my article on C wire also known as the common wire. You can read that article here: https://thermostatsauthority.com/what-is-a-thermostat-c-wire-or-common-wire/
If you are uncomfortable working with electricity or wires, please consult a professional electrician before installing the unit for safety reasons.
Only authorized users can access the settings due to the password options, among other advanced locking features. This is an important feature since it isn’t such a good idea for just anybody to change the settings.
Pros
- Intuitive touchscreen interface
- Tool-free wiring
- Email alerts for deviations
- Programmable settings
- Manual-free installation and setup provided you have the skills for C-wire installation
- Learns the HVAC system for advanced heating and cooling
Cons
- No energy data reports
- With C-wire on installation
Final Verdict
The Honeywell RTH9585 Wi-Fi Smart thermostat is a great choice if you’re looking for a reasonably-priced yet full-featured smart thermostat. While there’s still room for improvement in its design, this works sufficiently well for most residential uses.