What if I told you that you could have a thermostat that was wireless, could tell you the weather, control your system and send you push alerts on your cell phone? You would probably believe me; this technology isn’t exactly new.
What if I added that it didn’t matter how you decorated your home or what color your walls we, that you weren’t stuck with a single color option for the thermostat and it could conform to almost any color display to fit in with your home’s décor?
That is the idea of the Honeywell RTH9585WF smart thermostat. It brings you the energy savings, smart home technologies and the ability to match your home all with a quick and simple set up.
Let’s find out everything you need to know about the device, how it operates and how you can get it in your home today.
Contents
- 1 Who is the Honeywell smart thermostat for?
- 2 Who is it not for?
- 3 Dimensions, Features and Options
- 4 Specifications Chart
- 5 Alternative Options
- 6 Frequently Asked Questions
- 6.1 Q. If there is no battery, what happens when the power goes out?
- 6.2 Q. Will this work with other voice control options besides Amazon Alexa?
- 6.3 Q. I prefer to have my readouts in Celsius. Will this thermostat display in C?
- 6.4 Q. I live in an area where internet is dial-up only. Because of this I don’t have wireless communications. Can I still use this thermostat?
- 7 In Conclusion
- 8 In a Nutshell
Who is the Honeywell smart thermostat for?
The design makes it capable of working in almost any home with a sleek and stylish design. Though you may find other uses that make it an even better fit, such as:
- Energy savings mode to cut down on heating and cooling costs.
- Wireless capabilities allow the use of mobile app and voice commands for control.
- May even qualify for a smart home energy rebate.
Who is it not for?
Not everyone will enjoy the benefits of the thermostat or find some of the features pointless for their systems. You may be among this group if:
- You need reports (weekly or monthly) to compare energy savings.
- There needs to be pin-point fine-tuning for the set temperature range.
- You want a newer system because having the latest is important to you.
Dimensions, Features and Options
Some of the details of the system aren’t as easy to understand as others. In this section, I will discuss some of the more confusing features and options to help you understand what you are getting into and what to expect from the thermostat.
Installation isn’t too difficult, depending on your setup.
The first step in any thermostat installation is the removal of the existing thermostat. It is important when you remove your old thermostat that you make a note of the wires, where they are attached to and what colors they are.
The Honeywell system has wire labels you can use, though I find just taking a picture of the wires (remove the wads of dust build up, first) works just as well.
Assuming you have the wires labeled and the old thermostat removed, installation is really easy.
- Mount the backing plate to the wall pulling the wires through the center.
- Use the included wall anchors and screws to attach the mounting plate to the wall.
- Following your wire labels or photo, push the wires into the correct slots on the thermostat.
- Once all of the wires are secured in their proper positions, snap the faceplate on and restore power to the panel from the circuit breaker.
The installation is complete at this stage. You will then need to run the program set up to get the HVAC unit working.
- Once power to the panel is returned the system will begin initial setup. This will choose your language and other basic information.
- Please pay attention to the location setup screen (Home or Office) as the set up will be different for each one.
- Follow the one screen instructions to finish the basic setup.
- Once completed you will need to install the mobile app and do a complete setup to finalize the installation.
During the install and setup, you will notice a lot of different options such as color management. This is one of the marketing draws of this thermostat so I figured I would cover it here briefly.
The thermostat housing is silver, which basically blends into all walls except for the darkest of colors. However, you will have the option of changing the display colors. There are 12 to chose from that will fit most decors.
If you need more control over the color, though, there are three RGB sliders that will combine to create over 1000 different shades. You are sure to find one that matches your walls or décor.
The Mobile App and Voice Commands Help Take Control
During the setup and installation, you will have downloaded the Honeywell mobile app. The app is available on the Android and iOS marketplaces and you can put it on your tablet or even desktop computer.
Once the system is connected to the wireless network and your mobile app, you can also sync it with Amazon Alexa enabled devices. You can then use voice commands to turn the system on or off, raise or lower the temperature or even create an away schedule.
The mobile app has more control than voice commands, but once everything is set up and running, you won’t need to use either one very often.
One downside to the RTH9585WF is that there aren’t reports to view or have sent to you. You will have to rely on your monthly energy bill to see differences each month.
The ability to control your thermostat from local controls (which are still possible, of course) helps you better manage your heating and cooling without having to worry about where you are. You can also create away schedules and other little tidbits I will cover in a moment.
The Honeywell Learns as You Go About Your Day
One of the smarter features is the ability for the thermostat to learn your habits. While this isn’t a new technology (pioneered by the Nest thermostats), it is a great feature. Your thermostat will start to recognize your routine, the temperature range you prefer and at what times.
It also takes into account the ambient and external temperatures to help control your heating and cooling ranges.
The Honeywell system also goes one step further and records how long it takes your system to heat up or cool down and will start the routine earlier to make sure the temperature is where it should be when you enter the home, wake up in the morning or go to sleep at night.
Away Settings, Access and Users
The tidbits I spoke of earlier include away schedules. While there aren’t a geofencing capabilities, you can create multiple schedules that run together.
For example, you can set a time that you wake up to get ready for work and the desired temperature for that time. You can then set a schedule for the hours you are at work, again with a temperature setting for that time.
You can then set a schedule for your evening and another for the times you are asleep. With these settings, you can further control how the system runs and when it shouldn’t run at all (or minimally to maintain a temperature range).
You can also create multiple users through the console or the mobile app. Anyone with the app linked to your system can control it, though you can give certain users different levels of control.
If, however, you have multiple people in your house or someone is always fighting over the temperature (an unruly roommate for example), you can create a PIN lock on the panel and only those with the correct PIN can make changes to the settings or temperatures.
Specifications Chart
Let’s take a look at what the RTH9585WF has to offer (or doesn’t offer) in this handy little chart.
| Honeywell RTH9585WF | |
| Dimensions | 4.5×3.5×0.8 inches |
| Installation | DIY |
| C-Wire Required | Yes |
| Wireless | Yes |
| Mobile App | Yes |
| Voice Commands | Yes |
| Scheduling | Yes |
| Touch Screen | Yes |
| Display Options | Color, Time, Temp, Weather |
| Geofencing | No |
| Alerts | Email, Push Notifications |
| Multiple Users | Yes |
| Locking Panel | Yes |
| Separate Fan Control | Yes |
| Battery | No |
| Central Heat and Air | Yes |
| Steam Systems | Yes |
| Single and Multi-Stage Systems | Yes |
| Heat Pump Systems | Yes |
| Warranty | 1 year |
| Price | Check on Amazon |
Alternative Options
You may be interested in newer models, or those with slightly different features. Perhaps you just want to compare different versions? Here is your chance.
Honeywell Lyric
The Honeywell Lyric is the model that was released after the RTH9585WF. It has all of the same base features including learning your habits, easy installation and set up (which has been improved and made even easier), and the ability to run multiple systems.
The Lyric, however, doesn’t have the color control options like the RTH9585WF does, so a perfect match to your wall color or decorations won’t be possible. The Lyric is mainly used to integrate with other Honeywell components and can even monitor door and window sensors, smoke alarms and other such sensors.
Nest E Learning Thermostat
The Nest family of thermostats are renowned for their learning abilities. They were the first thermostat to include the learning features and have continued to improve them over the years. The Nest also includes wireless communications, mobile apps and voice commands.
The mobile app is one of the most robust in the industry and is relatively easy to use, which helps make the Nest E so sought after. You also get a frosted glass display that is designed to fade into your decorations, not be a part of it or stand out.
Ecobee4
The Ecobee 4 is one of the top-rated, highest selling smart thermostats on the market today. It rivals every Nest thermostat made and even takes over the number one position in many realms.
It has all of the features you need, all of the features you want and even incorporates room sensors to adjust the temperature in your entire home, not just in one area. The thermostat will even know if you are home, where you are in the home (with the room and motion sensors).
Frequently Asked Questions
Allow me to take a little time to answer some of your most common questions. If you still have unanswered questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below.
Q. If there is no battery, what happens when the power goes out?
A. If the power goes out in your home, the system will be able to send you an email that the power has been disconnected. This, provided of course, that you have email alerts set up.
The thermostat will also remember the settings (up to about 12 to 16 hours) so once power is restored everything will go back to normal. If the power isn’t restored before the internal memory is run out, you will have to run the setup again.
Q. Will this work with other voice control options besides Amazon Alexa?
A. Yes, the Honeywell RTH9585WF is compatible with Google Home, SmartThings and IFTTT.
However, Amazon and Google are the only native ones, you can get the others to work with a few recipes mixed together. There are reports where some have gotten the thermostat to link with services like Wink as well, though I don’t know how or if it is really true.
Q. I prefer to have my readouts in Celsius. Will this thermostat display in C?
A. Yes. You absolutely can change the temperature display degrees. You will have to complete the initial set up first, following the procedures as I covered in this article.
Once you have the thermostat installed, set up and running you can access the advanced settings menu where you will be able to change the degrees and other settings.
Q. I live in an area where internet is dial-up only. Because of this I don’t have wireless communications. Can I still use this thermostat?
A. You sure can! The internet is used on a wireless bases only for the thermostat to connect to the server, get weather updates, current temperature and the time.
If you do not have the internet connected you will not have these displayed on your thermostat screen. However, you will still be able to set the temperature range, turn the air conditioner and heater on.
You will not be able to use voice commands or the mobile app without the wireless connection, however, so that is something you need to be aware of.
In Conclusion
The Honeywell RTH9585WF is one of Honeywell’s highest selling smart thermostats of all time. Even after newer, more advanced models, have come out from the company, the RTH9585WF continues to sell and perform beyond users expectations.
It has enough of the newer features such as learning abilities and mobile or voice commands, to keep you happy, busy and your home comfortable year round. While installation and set up can be confusing the more connections you have (such as in a business) there is a help function built into each setup step.
While there isn’t a geofencing or motion sensor to know when you are home, you can use the app to create a schedule based on your normal routine. Each step is designed to save your heating and cooling costs. You may even be entitled to an energy rebate from your local energy company, just by installing the smart thermostat.
In a Nutshell
The Honeywell RTH9585WF is a thermostat built for home and business use alike to control a multitude of system types. The controls are very intuitive and the thermostat is easy to use once set up.
What I Like
- Mobile app and voice commands are intuitive and easy to follow or use.
- Multi-color configuration gives you complete control over the look of the thermostat.
- Learning abilities and scheduling help save on energy costs.
What I Don’t Like
- No geofencing capabilities.
- Setup can be difficult are larger systems.
- Must be in wireless signal range, repeaters don’t work well.