Honeywell RLV4305A Thermostat Review

In this article, we review the Honeywell RLV4305A thermostat which is also called Honeywell RLV4305A1000.

Honeywell is a name familiar to most households in the USA. They make products & solutions in different sectors like aerospace, home building solutions, environment, energy, and safety. When it comes to thermostats, they have a wide variety of models catering to different needs. In fact, no other company has thermostat models in high numbers like Honeywell. In this article, we review Honeywell RLV4305A1000 – a line voltage thermostat model for baseboard heaters, fan-forced heaters, convectors, and radiant ceiling heaters. 

Precise temperature control of  +/-0.5°F is ensured with Triac-based switching technology, which also facilitates silent switching operation. At 240 volts, a max load of 3500 watts can be handled. For resistive loads, the max current is 14.6 amperes, and the load should draw a minimum current of 0.83 amperes.

So that was all about Honeywell RLV4305A in a quick nutshell. We shall discuss some of the key features of the Honeywell RLV4305A1000E1 thermostat in this article, to give you a good idea about this model. We will be covering features, technical spec, installation, pros & cons, and other aspects of the RLV4305A thermostat. 

Honeywell’s RLV4305A1000E1 is an improved version of its predecessor YRLV430A1005/U – 5-2 Day Programmable Thermostat. The new model (RLV4305A) has resolved some of the issues which the older model had.

Let’s dig deep into more of its features:

The Design

This rectangle-shaped thermostat from Honeywell measures 4.8 x 1.2 x 5 inches (WxDxH). The white-colored outer body is quite sleek and blends well in any room. It has 5 push buttons for control, a push button for selecting the mode, and an up-down push button (for increasing/decreasing temperature or other parameters). A backlit screen for display is provided just above the mode button, at the rightmost part of the thermostat.

You may find the size a bit large, as this model is a  little bigger when compared to other line voltage thermostat models.

Display

This model has a digital display screen with a backlight. The display will be backlit for 12 seconds when any button is pressed.  The highlight of the display is the current room temperature and day/time. Apart from these two vital pieces of info, a quick look at the display will get you details like the working mode of the thermostat (auto or manual), the configuration (fan-forced heater or baseboard heater, etc), heating intensity, and other details. It also indicates whether the settings are locked or not.

You can see the setpoint temperature whenever you want, by just pressing the Up or Down button once. The clock will be replaced by the setpoint value for 5 seconds.

 Unlike its earlier model, this newer version has a clear display that can be easily comprehended. The usual “small hand” symbol is replaced by a “man” to indicate that the thermostat is working in “manual mode”.

RLV4305A Compatibility

RLV4305A is a line voltage thermostat (which can operate at either 120 volts or 240 volts), suitable for baseboard heaters, convectors, fan-forced heaters, and radiant ceiling heaters. This thermostat is not compatible with low voltage systems (that operate at 24 volts) like heat pumps, central heating systems like a central furnace, or a boiler.

Honeywell RLV4305A is 2-wire/single-pole, but you can also use this for a 4-wire installation.

Note: RLV4305A is not compatible with heating systems driven by a contactor or a relay (inductive loads).

At 240 volts, a max load of 3500 watts can be handled. For resistive loads, the max current is 14.6 amperes, and the load should draw a minimum current of 0.83 amperes. At 120 volts, the max load can be 1800 watts.

Accuracy

One of the features to vouch for when buying a thermostat is its accuracy, as it decides the amount of energy it can save. This thermostat has an accuracy of +/-0.5°F and gives a satisfactory performance with regard to its energy-saving capabilities. All this owes to its TRIAC switching technology.

Switching sounds

RLV4305A1000E1 performs its switching operation in 100 percent silence. It does not produce any annoying click/tick sounds and disturbs your sound sleep or a peaceful environment. RLV4305A uses Triac switching, which does not produce any switching sounds. You can install it anywhere, even in your bedroom, and sleep peacefully.

Operating Modes

This 5-2 day programmable thermostat operates in four modes: Automatic, manual, away, and standby mode.  The mode button is pressed to select the desired mode.

You can use the automatic mode to pre-set temperatures for a day. Here a day is fragmented over 4 periods namely: wake, leave, return, and sleep.  However, only two temperatures can be set. This means that you will have the same temperatures set for wake and return, leave and sleep.

You can set a particular program for 5 days of the week and a separate program for the other two days (like weekends). This is of great use for professionals, who stay away from home during weekdays and stay at home during weekends. 

In the manual mode, the temperature has to be set manually each time a change is needed. The away mode is great if you are going out for a small trip and will be away for an extended period of time. This will set the temperature of your house to a particular set point which will save energy, and at the same time, your home will be nice & comfortable when you return. 

The standby mode is used to disable the heating. The thermostat will not work at any setpoint temperature in this mode. The frosting is avoided by maintaining the room temperature above 41 degrees F.

Installation

The installation of this thermostat is quite simple. It can be connected in either 2-wire or 4-wire mode.  If you know how to handle the electric connections, you can install them yourself. However, I would recommend you hire a professional electrician for the installation. The user manual provided by Honeywell guides you through the installation process.

Power Source

No batteries are used by this thermostat. It is in fact powered by a heater line. It retains the clock and temperature settings between power outages (for 5 hours) which is a great advantage. If power fails for more than 5 hours continuously, you might need to adjust the settings.

Cost

The RLV4305A1000E1 is an energy-saving line-volt thermostat. You need not worry about the initial cost, because you can get the money back in the form of energy savings. Proper programming can reduce energy usage to a great extent, which has a huge impact on your electricity bills.

This 5-2 day programmable thermostat from Honeywell seems to be a good buy as it turns out to be an energy saver. With this, let me give a small list of the pros and cons of this product.

Pros:

• Functional display, which shows all vital information
• Accurate temperature control
• Saves energy usage and reduces annual energy bill
• Stylish Design and Sturdy built
• Backlit display and easy-to-understand icons on the display
• Dual voltage (120 volts or 240 volts)
• Installation can be for either 2-wire or 4-wire homes.
• Silent TRIAC switching

Cons:

• Large size
• Cannot be placed on its side, it needs to be placed horizontally always, so as to cool off the heat produced in it during its operation.
• Not suitable for inductive loads

This was a quick overview of the product RLV4305A1000E1 from Honeywell.

Demonstration Video 

I’ve added a short demonstration video of Honeywell RLV4305A, which I got from Youtube. This video is created by some other company. I found this will be a quick glance for you and you can see images of the product from different angles.

If you are considering an upgrade to your manual thermostat or installing a new device for your new baseboard heater, then I would suggest you opt for a programmable thermostat.

If you are flipping about the bucks it might cost, worry not, you can choose the simple basic digital programmable models similar to Honeywell’s RLV4305A1000E1.

Even if you pay for this one, it will pay you back the money over a period of time, by reducing your heating bills without compromising on your comfort.

I hope you got a good gist of what to expect from the product if you are planning to buy one.

Thank you for reading!