Review of Control4 Wireless Thermostat
Reviewed by JCL Automation (www.jclautomation.com)
Control4® Wireless Thermostat
The Control4 Wireless Thermostat is fully programmable and works seemlessly within a Control4 system.
Overall Rating: 8.8 out of 10
Features
The Control4 Wireless Thermostat enables the ultimate climate control by programming the desired action to inside temperature, times of day, and even the seasons of the year. A manual override provides three levels of manual hold that can be set at the Wireless Thermostat or with a remote control. The bi-directional communication with the Control4 home automation system can perform automated functions based on the temperature reported by the Wireless Thermostat or other sensor inputs. This flexible control unit supports multiple types of HVAC systems, automatic changeover between heating and cooling, and manual temperature override. Communication is intelligent, reliable, wireless connectivity using the 802.15.4 mesh networking (ZigBee) standard.
With plug and play ease the unit works right out of the box. It has stand-alone capabilities and operates as an independent thermostat even without a home controller present. It has flexible power options, independently powered or powered from a direct source, so it works perfectly in any home. The Control4 network integration makes this thermostat immediately controllable and easily updateable from a Control4 Keypad, Touch Screen, or System Remote Control.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Ease of Installation
This thermostat can be installed by a knowledgeable homeowner or a HVAC professional in addition to Control4 Dealers. This unit connects to standard 4- or 5-conductor thermostat wiring from the HVAC system. In a new home the HVAC subcontractor can install this unit and test it's manual operation. In a retrofit the Dealer will likely recommend the best resource to replace the existing thermostat with this unit. In all cases the Dealer will add this device to the Control4 configuration and add desirable specialized programming to complement the flexible user programming via the system interfaces.
The Dealer is backed-up by a capable technical support staff at Control4 who can access the Control4 system remotely via the Internet to assist the Dealer in troubleshooting.
Rating: 9.0 out of 10
Reliability
We have yet to experience a field failure of this thermostat, as all installed are working well beyond the warranty period. The only minor issue we have seen is the potential for somewhat erratic operation of the thermostat when the supplied supplemental battery is low, as the system does not report a "low battery" condition for this device.
In 2007 Control4 increased it's warranty coverage to 2 years for all products based on reliability improvements achieved via an in-house quality program.