Lux TX9000TS Touch Screen Seven-Day Programmable Thermostat
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Lux TX9000TS Touch Screen Seven-Day Programmable Thermostat
Customer Review: Finally, someone got the interface (almost) perfect
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought a pair of these setback thermostats to replace a White-Rodgers setback and a ritetemp setback. While both of my present thermostats were technically perfectly operational, the former had a small, one-line screen and no backlight and both were hard enough to set that on those rare occasions when I wanted to change a setting I had to resort to a manual. Not so with these Luxs.
I cheated a bit in that I downloaded the manual from the Lux Web site and had it read before my thermostats arrived, but even so they would have been a snap to program. I am fairly handy and didn't even find it necessary to turn off the (24 volt) power to my 2-wire gas heaters (and I am _not_ recommending this shortcut for anyone else). Within an hour I had both units mounted, programmed, tested, and running. One required drilling 2 new holes, the other mounted in the same holes as the unit it replaced.
The advantage of the Luxs over my old thermostats is in the touchscreen interface. The font is large, especially the room temperature, there is backlighting, and, to make things even easier the electronic front panel can be separated from the wall mount so that you can do your programming at a table or desk. I inserted 2 AA batteries in each unit and made 2 hardware settings (24 hour time and "smart recovery", keep reading for an explanation). The day of the week and the time are set from the touchscreen, as are all the software settings. The start time and temperature for each period of each day are set from one of the (several) available menus and one day's settings can be copied to the next day by pressing COPY. Those settings, which can be done in a minute or two, are all you need to be up and running and all most people will use. Snap the faceplate onto the wall mount and you're done.
My "almost" in the title expresses one of only two reservations I have concerning these thermostats. For some reason, the engineers at Lux decided not to show the set temperature on the main screen, the one you see most of the time; only the room temperature shows. It's easy enough to see the set temperature (just touch the room temperature), but I would have liked not to have to do anything to see the set temperature.
The only other complaint I have is with the smart recovery algorithm. The idea is to have the thermostat monitor how fast your house cools off (typically at night) to the setback temperature to have some idea how much lead time it will need in the morning to reach the higher, morning set temperature. The faster your house cools down at night, the colder it must be outside, and the longer it should take to come up to temperature in the morning. At least that's the idea. This feature works perfectly with the thermostat controlling the bedroom heater, but not with the thermostat controlling the main living-area heater. I did a little reading and discovered that if the thermostat determines that it will take more than an hour head start to reach the morning setting it simply will not try and will start at the requested time (no lead). I run my main living- area at 58 F at night, lower than the bedrooms, and I guess that's why the two thermostats perform differently in this regard. I can live with this situation, but I don't see why the one hour constraint is there in the first place.
In summary, despite two minor drawbacks, I find these Lux thermostats to be a dream to program and easy to read. All in all a very satisfying purchase.
Customer Review: Flexible and versatile
Summary: 4 Stars
The TX9000TS is the third LUX thermostat I have owned, and the other two replaced name brand digital thermostats with good reputations. The Lux, however, gave me the flexibility to set things as I needed them, and the ability to manage things easily.
For many users, some of these features might be overkill. Four temperature ranges per day is generally useful since people often want a lower winter setting when they are under the blankets at night, or when they are away at work. Having a thermostat that sets things automatically makes it a lot easier, and allows you to wake up to a room that is the proper temperature.
Since people often have weekends off, an additional group of settings for weekends is helpful. But not everybody's week is divided the same way. Some people might have different days off. Others might have children in preschool three days a week and at home on other days. Regardless of your schedule, having seven distinct programming schedules allows you to tailor your settings to your weekly schedule, not somebody else's.
If you don't have a different schedule each day, you can set the temperatures for one day, and use the convenient copy button to populate the rest of the schedule. You can then go back and tailor specific days as desired. The copy button is a time saver, but its use won't be obvious without reading the manual.
Most settings are easy to take care of using menus, but a handful of "permanent" settings need dip switches, all of which is explained in the manual.
Despite the versatility and large easy-to-read display, this thermostat has a few shortcomings.
The most basic of thermostats show nothing but the current temperature and the setting for the desired temperature. This one shows the current temperature only. Although touching the current temperature will show you the set point, it won't be obvious to all household members or guests, and something as simple as pushing things up a degree or two won't be obvious to casual users.
If your room is 66 degrees and you see a subtle flashing of a flame icon, you know your room is being heated. But is it being heated to the 70 degree morning setting or to the 68 degree afternoon setting? You can't tell at a glance, and since the temperature setting changes throughout the day by nature, it would be nice to know at a glance how many degrees the thermostat is planning to heat or cool by. You might not know whether you need to override things until the proper temperature never gets reached.
Another potential issue is that switching the unit from heating to cooling is manual. Although the programs are independent, they cannot be enabled concurrently. If you set the heat for 70 degrees and cooling for 82 degrees, it would be nice for the heat to go on when the temperature drops below 70 degrees and the A/C to go on when the temperature rises above 82 degrees. I have those sorts of temperature swings during parts of the year, and it's inconvenient to need a manual switch. I'm using this thermostat for the bottom floor of my house, but if I were to replace the one upstairs I might consider a Honeywell for that reason.
If you do touch the temperature, you will see the set point, and have up and down arrows. Once you use them, leaving them alone will let the display revert to showing you the room temperature. All that is no big deal, except for a casual user who raises the temperature a degree or two and wonders what to do next until the display changes on its own. At that point, the new setting will not displayed, so only somebody who already knows how this thermostat works will have a clear idea how to do the most basic thing a thermostat allows for.
Mounting LUX thermostats is easy. Once the mounting plate is in place, a simple latch lets you remove it from the wall or replace it, and all settings can be done from the comfort of a chair if you so desire. Attaching the mounting plate merely requires two wall screws and anchors, as well as hooking a few wires to screw terminals.
A problem is that unlike LUX thermostats I had in the past, that had holes on the back of the mounting plate in various locations, this one has holes for the wires only on the upper right hand side. Trying to place this one in the location of my old LUX thermostat was impossible given where the wires came out of the wall. I needed to cut the wall and re-plaster.
Also, this one does not come with the escutcheon plate, and if you want one you need to buy it as an option. My old one came with one, but they are not the same size. Considering that people want to replace old thermostats by putting new ones in the same locations, I can't see why LUX didn't add a few alternate holes for screws and wires.
Overall, you get an easy to read touch screen that probably gives you more than you need to know at any given time, and less than you need to know in other respects. I'd rather need to press a button to find out the current day of the week when I'm not setting the thermostat than to need to know the difference between a flickering flame icon, a stationery one and a flashing or non-flashing snowflake. These minor inconveniences are no big deal if you are the regular user, but when your kids come home from college and see a new thermostat, they might have to track you down to ask how it works.
Customer Review: GREAT product for a GREAT price!!
Summary: 5 Stars
BOTTOM LINE:
Took about 45 minutes from removing old unit to new installation and completing programming. It works great!
SYSTEM:
4 wire Gas heating and electric cooling.
OLD UNIT:
Honeywell Electronic C9825 - bought in year 2000. Has weekday, weekend, 4 periods per day and adaptive recovery. Replaced as temperature override and 'Hold' features work erratically.
TOTAL EXPERIENCE:
1 Week
REVIEW:
The TX9000TS is the 3rd electronic thermostat I've owned and is probably the most intuitive of them all. Lux has provided a generous sized display and a very responsive touch-screen. The back light is a pleasing blue. The unit is 3 parts - the main unit, a back plate where you connect the wires and an optional accent plate that provides a .75 inch border to provide a finished look.
I had read the earlier reviews on Amazon and had decided that I will not read the instructions prior to the install to determine how intuitive this system really was? The only exception I would allow myself was if the wiring was significantly different from my old unit - which it was not!
The setup was relatively simple. Removed the old unit and replaced it with the new back plate and accent bezel. No new holes to drill. The accent bezel is the closest piece to the wall and is held up by the back plate. I straightened the old wires, inserted into the corresponding clamp and tightened the screws - Total time of 15 minutes.
I inserted 2 new alkaline batteries (And NO, I did not use the recommended Duracell or Energizer!) and the unit came to life. I clicked on the time and it started beeping. I could see arrows on the right and intuitively touched them to set the time. Did the same to set the day. Touching the 'Menu' got me into the programming mode for the unit. I touched "SCROLL" to skip to the next feature, and "NEXT" for the next step in the feature programming. I do admit I took a few iterations to get used to the programming logic. Also 'YES' to accept settings is a little different from the colloquial "ENTER" we are used to in a computer literate world!
This unit is programmable for every day of the week. I, at most, need one setting for all week-days and one each for Sat and Sun. While programming the days, I noticed that they had a "COPY" function. I was sure that this was to copy my settings - every time I touched it, it went over to the next day. I thought that the data was being copied over and I did verify it after I completed my first iteration of programming. By the way, once you are in the programming mode, setting the start time for any period and/or setting the temperature is as simple as touching the time or temperature and using the up/down arrows. Could not be simpler!
I was fortunate that I had the program settings available from my old unit - once I went through a few iterations of errors (not using "YES" to accept settings!) the unit was programmed - Total time of 15 minutes
I spent another 10 minutes setting the 'Filter Usage' and 'Swing settings' and reviewing the 'Temperature Calibration' and 'Energy Usage' monitor. The Swing settings only went upto 2.5 degrees in 0.5 degree increments (One of the other reviewer found that it went upto 3.0 degrees???)
I did not see the 'Smart Recovery' option and thought that it might be a switch on the circuit board like my last unit. It was 1.30 in the morning and I did not feel like reading the instructions. I attached the TX9000TS and it kicked off instantly.
The instructions did have the following options that can be changed with the small slide switches towards the back of the main unit -- 12/24 hours time format, Smart Recovery, Degrees in C or F, and 2 or 5 minute interval between restarts.
OTHER REVIEWER'S CONCERNS
Some of the other reviewers have concerns that the unit does not automatically switch between heating and cooling to keep the temperature constant. This is done intentionally!
In the summer, our ideal temperature is 74 degrees. When we leave for work, our "DAY" period is set to 82 degrees so that the AC does not cool the home while we're out. In an auto switch between heating and cooling, the heat would take over and get the temperature to 82 degrees and maintain it - which is NOT the intent!! We do not want the AC to cool any below 82. I can, of course, see the gentleman's point if one spends 90% of their time at home and is OK with the associated heating/cooling cost.
PROS:
* TX9000TS is rated #1 by Consumer Reports
* Cheapest in its class for display size and features
* Very easy to program
* Love the LARGE display and the accuracy of the touch zones.
* Very nice Backlight and fantastic positioning of the backlight switch.
* Like the "CHANGE FILTER" feature. I used to use a Sharpie on the filter and then try to read the date through the grill
* Like the "Low Battery" alert.
* Power Usage also seems like a valuable feature...will find out in the near future! I did manage to find it by pressing menu and scrolling
CONS:
* Lux could have done a better job with the programming terminology and could have improved the user experience with regards to the programming. For e.g., if you had to program day and time, it continues to loop when you click "NEXT"...to exit the programming you need to use "MENU".
* Another feature I miss from my old Honeywell is the "RUN PROGRAM" button which when pressed would clear the "OVERRIDE" functions and run as per the program. The TX9000TS unit achieves this either by touching the temperature and using the arrow keys to bring the temperature to the programmed value, OR, by touching "HOLD" twice. Minor inconvenience.
* The tabs, on the top of the base plate, that hold this unit are very small and I am in constant fear of breaking them off. My old Honeywell had a very robust design.
CONCLUSION:
I do agree that the TX9000TS is not completely intuitive, but it is nowhere as unintuitive as others claim. I do like to play around with stuff that I get...if it were all super-intuitive and easy then it'd be no fun! ;o)
Customer Review: GREAT thermostat!
Summary: 5 Stars
After a little problem following the wiring diagrams (we have a 2 wire system for oil fired furnace, baseboard heating - should have been really simple), we had it up and running! Yes, the instructions are a little rough, but once you figure out that you have to press "yes" instead of "next" to save the time/temp setting, it's all gravy from there! You can program the temperature to change 4 different times during the day - the original settings are for 6am, 8am, 6pm, & 10pm, but you can change those too). The backlight feature is quite nice (note: you do have to push a button to get it to light, and it only stays on for a few minutes), but only necessary when you want to change something. Love the touchscreen and large display! Overall we are VERY satisfied with this product!Customer Review: Good price
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great product, very easy to install and program. It's already saved us $50 off our heating bill.