Hunter Fan does a collection of programmable thermostats that are recommended by Energy Star. Hunter is less well known to the public than either Honeywell or Lux Products as makers of programmable thermostats so it is worth looking at what Hunter has to offer to help the consumer find the right device for his or her home.
The Hunter 44360 is sometimes called the ‘Set and Save’. It is a 7 day programmable thermostat that retails for the incredibly cheap price of $40. The Hunter 44860 is at the higher end of the range and retails for about $70.
One of the main reasons why the Hunter 44860 is more expensive is that it uses touchscreen technology. It also has better compatibility than the Hunter 44360 – it can deal with 2 stages of heating and 2 stages of cooling; whereas the Hunter 44360 is limited to just one stage heating and cooling.
Both thermostats have a readout that shows set point temperature, time, and filter and battery status. Both also have a handy energy usage monitor. The Hunter 44860 is superior in being able to change between French, Spanish and English. It also has 3 fan settings that are absent on the cheaper device.
In terms of functions the two thermostats have temporary hold, vacation mode and smart response. The Hunter 44360 has span control that lets the user change the length of the ‘blast’ each time the thermostat activates the heating or cooling to keep the room at a constant temperature.
The Hunter 44860 also has a span control but it is connected to the auto change-over function. This peculiarity has lead to a number of negative reviews of the Hunter 44860. In contrast the cheap Hunter 44360 has better overall reviews.
It is definitely worth reading more about both of these thermostats before buying them as they are not without their problems. It is worth taking your time when choosing a programmable thermostat as it can save you lots of money on your heating and cooling bills.