I bought a CT30 and after installing it and using it for about 2 weeks decided to send it back and bought the Honeywell ZWave TH8320ZW1007/U. I'm posting just to let others know my experiences so they can make an informed purchased as I failed to thoroughly investigate this product before I purchased it. Some of my observations pertain to the 3M Wifi units being sold at Home Depot and online as other brands. I'm just posting my observations which some may disagree with, that's fine, others may find it useful or just entertaining.
1. The backlight won't stay always on. I like to be able to walk past my tstat in a dark hallway and see what it is displaying. With the CT30 you have to touch the screen to turn on the backlight. The backlight times out after a few minutes. I posted on the Radio Thermostat forum and one of the techs replied and told me always on backlight isn't currently available.
2. I really didn't like how it wired. There is no backplate as most tstats have. The wires connect to the screw terminal strip at the top of the unit. They suggest centering the unit on the hole in the wall and bringing the wires up the behind the unit and then through a slot. I found it impossible and had to place the unit so the wires could come out of the wall and directly in the stop. This made the hole in the wall and the wires entering the tstat slightly visible after the top cover was put on. The way the Honeywell's and others wire with the backplate you can totally conceal the wires and you don't have to bend them sharply in a tight space.
3. The CT30 mounts with four screws directly through the unit which get covered by the top and bottom covers. The holes are perfectly round not oval in opposite orientation like the Honeywell and other tstats I've installed. This is a minor thing but it helps when getting the unit level.
4. I was powering the CT30 from 24VAC from the start. Without adding a Schlage lamp module I couldn't get HS to poll the CT30. Poll wasn't an option on the device in HS. I did all the optimization and HS reported everything was fine but I couldn't get polling to work. I am using a brand new ZTroller with latest firmware. I hooked up the Honeywell and was able to enable polling on it from the start. No problems, no optimization, no required lamp module, no magic smoke. The only thing I changed was switching out the CT30 for the Honeywell. My conclusion is that the Honeywell has a better ZWave radio than the CT30.
5. The Honeywell comes with a "wire saver" module THP9045 that allows you to use this thermostat when a C wire is not available. This allows for the functionality of a 5 wire system when only 4 wires are available. I didn't use this module but it comes with the tstat and may "solve" the problem of no C wire for some installations. If you are buying the CT30 because it is the "only" Zwave tstat that doesn't require a C wire this module may be another option.
Jabran
1. The backlight won't stay always on. I like to be able to walk past my tstat in a dark hallway and see what it is displaying. With the CT30 you have to touch the screen to turn on the backlight. The backlight times out after a few minutes. I posted on the Radio Thermostat forum and one of the techs replied and told me always on backlight isn't currently available.
2. I really didn't like how it wired. There is no backplate as most tstats have. The wires connect to the screw terminal strip at the top of the unit. They suggest centering the unit on the hole in the wall and bringing the wires up the behind the unit and then through a slot. I found it impossible and had to place the unit so the wires could come out of the wall and directly in the stop. This made the hole in the wall and the wires entering the tstat slightly visible after the top cover was put on. The way the Honeywell's and others wire with the backplate you can totally conceal the wires and you don't have to bend them sharply in a tight space.
3. The CT30 mounts with four screws directly through the unit which get covered by the top and bottom covers. The holes are perfectly round not oval in opposite orientation like the Honeywell and other tstats I've installed. This is a minor thing but it helps when getting the unit level.
4. I was powering the CT30 from 24VAC from the start. Without adding a Schlage lamp module I couldn't get HS to poll the CT30. Poll wasn't an option on the device in HS. I did all the optimization and HS reported everything was fine but I couldn't get polling to work. I am using a brand new ZTroller with latest firmware. I hooked up the Honeywell and was able to enable polling on it from the start. No problems, no optimization, no required lamp module, no magic smoke. The only thing I changed was switching out the CT30 for the Honeywell. My conclusion is that the Honeywell has a better ZWave radio than the CT30.
5. The Honeywell comes with a "wire saver" module THP9045 that allows you to use this thermostat when a C wire is not available. This allows for the functionality of a 5 wire system when only 4 wires are available. I didn't use this module but it comes with the tstat and may "solve" the problem of no C wire for some installations. If you are buying the CT30 because it is the "only" Zwave tstat that doesn't require a C wire this module may be another option.
Jabran
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