Honeywell Programmable Heat Pump Thermostat CT3611R

Pros: Energy Savings, Sleek Design, SmartResponse Technology, Toll-Free Assistance
Cons: Backlight Function, Initial Programming

Why I Purchased This Thermostat My house is old, originally built in the 1920s of stone, with an addition of 2 bedrooms and a bath sometime in the 1940s, then another on top of that (literally) some 20 years later. Hence, there are 3 ...

Pros: Backlighting, "No batteries required", easy setup
Cons: Some often used buttons are under the faceplate

The Honeywell CT3611R Programmable Heat Pump Thermostat is an easy to learn, efficient "smart technology" controller. This unit is a quick replacement for an old style mercury thermostat which will make your system a "hands off" energy saving control....

Pros: Nice features
Cons: Apparently poor reliability (unless I just got a lemon), no support from manufacturer.

I bought three of these for my house - one upstairs, one downstairs, and one for the detached apt. After about a year, one of them has died. If that's indicative, it's a pretty bad failure rate given the cost of these items.

Also the review comment about "no battery" is incorrect. I left one of mine disconnected from the wall overnight, and it lost all the programming. I believe there is an internal backup battery, and that users cannot replace it so it is not mentioned in the manuals.

Finally, note that it appears that Honeywell is discontinuing its line of "do-it-yourself" thermostats. I can't find any heat pump thermostats for do-it-yourselfers on their website. They are probably succumbing to pressure from the AC service industry, which does not like do-it-yourselfers. See http://yourhome.honeywell.com/Consumer/Cultures/en-US/Products/Thermostats/Programmable/Do-It-Yourself/Default.htm for details.