I hate to admit it ... but all the buzz and pretty pictures got to me. Yes, I'm just another victim of shiny new gadgets and marketing hype. I gave in and bought a
$25 programmable thermostat.
$25 Thermostat vs. $250 Thermostat | EcoDaddyo.com
The fact that our old mechanical, mercury-switch thermostat was acting up and short-cycling the furnace finally pushed me to buy an electronic thermostat. I saw a $25 programmable thermostat in a sale flyer for a local hardware store, did some quick internet research and bought it.
The thermostat has a 5/2 day, 4 daily heat/cool period capability. It also has an adjustable temperature swing (+/- from set temp.) and anti-short-cycling feature. Installation was simple, two screws and two wires, and programming it was straightforward. So far it works fine, although we are still fine-tuning the settings.
After I get our January bill I'll post a comparison of natural gas used per heating degree day (I have a few years of data for the same time period). Given that the old thermostat was short-cycling the furnace I think we'll see an improvement.
Tim