What is it? This wall-mounted, dial room thermostat can be controlled manually or via the Honeywell Total Comfort app or website.
Category: A manual room thermostat with smart features
Money-saving features:
- Mobile control
- Hands-free controls
- Can become programmable when used with the app
- Can be used as part of a zone control system
It has the following ease-of-use features:
1. Mobile control
- Can be controlled via the Honeywell Total Connect Comfort app (for Android and IOS).
- We also tested the app with Apple’s Voice-over screen reader and found that most buttons are well labelled and most elements read-over well.
2. Hands-free features
- Voice-control works with Amazon’s Alex, Google Assistant, Siri and IFTTT when paired with a smart speaker
3. Visual features
- The Honeywell Home Single Zone Thermostat has a mono display with a dim backlight for night viewing
- The device displays the current room temperature is displayed in medium to large numbers o
- A small flame is used to indicate when the heating is on or off
- The colour contrast is a white dial and a mono-grey screen
4. Audio features
- There is no audio output on the device itself,but audio verification is available for basic features when paired with a smart speaker or smart assistant
- The Honeywell Total Comfort app works reasonably well with Apple’s VoiceOver screen reader, and most buttons are clearly labelled
5. Tactile features
- The device has a tactile dial user interface
- Tactile clicks provide verification when increasing and decreasing the temperature
6. Dexterity features
- The dial turns relatively easily with little strength required
7. Simplicity
- The device is very simple to use manually
Is there anything I should watch out for?
- In daylight the display has poor colour contrast and low screen brightness and is difficult to see in bright light
- The dial has no tactile verification features or points of reference and will spin continuously through 360°
- Although the device has no audio output and verification, these feature are available when paired with a smart speaker.
Who might want to buy it?
We think that this product would be great for people who want a room thermostat with a simple, familiar design and who might want to enable more money-saving smart features at a later date
Our consumer panel told us:
- The simple to use design makes it more accessible for people with cognitive impairments
- The easy to turn dial makes it more accessible for people with dexterity impairments
- The poor colour contrast on the device itself makes it less accessible for some people with visual impairments
- When paired with an app or smart speaker this product become much more accessible for people with visual impairments