Taking Control - A guide to buying or upgrading central heating controls(view report contents)

Danfoss Randall RET 230L - £21
LED shows when thermostat is calling for heat.

Impaired dexterity
Large dial but some found it was too smooth and slippery and not prominent enough to grip easily.

Impaired vision
Numbers and the pointer were mid-grey on white and too small and faint for some. The RET 230 VF2 (£22) has larger markings and two LED indicators.

Drayton RTS5 energy saver £42
Can compare the temperature of the room with what has been preset and will delay switching the heating on if they are close. The LED shows when thermostat is calling for heat, and if energy saving mode is on. It has a temperature limiting facility.

Impaired dexterity
Very easy to turn with large dial, although some people thought it was too flat to grip easily.

Impaired vision
Numbers were bolder and larger than on some other thermostats but were still too small for some people.

Horstmann HRT2 £15
Clicks when dial passes current temperature. The manufacturers tell us a new version with a larger dial is being developed.

Impaired dexterity
Some people could adjust it by hand, but it was too small and stiff to be used easily.

Impaired vision
Markings were too small and the mid grey numbers on a white background were too faint.

Honeywell T6360 £11
Clicks when dial passes current temperature. Dial with tactile mark to indicate 20° available

Impaired dexterity
Some people thought the dial was not prominent enough to grip

Impaired vision
Poor colour contrast and markings were too small

Myson MRT1 £9
Clicks when dial passes current temperature

Impaired dexterity
Impaired dexterity Easy to turn, but some people found the dial too smooth and not prominent enough to grip easily

Impaired vision
Markings were too small and the pale grey numbers on a white background were too faint

Siemens RAA20 £15

Impaired dexterity
Very easy to turn and had a raised bar that helped with gripping. Some users said the dial was too small to use easily

Impaired vision
Markings were in bold type, but too small for many people

Sunvic TLX 2259 £80

Clicks when dial passes current temperature.

Impaired dexterity

Impaired vision
Its black on silver markings were too small for many people, and some found it difficult to see and therefore line up the arrow.

Drayton Digistat 3 £69
The manufacture tells us that a new thermostat with larger display with clearer text and symbols is to be introduced.

Impaired dexterity
Most managed without difficulty. The four light touch buttons had a positive feel.

Impaired vision
Letters around the buttons were small and did not show up against the background. Symbols shown on the LCD screen were very small.

Honeywell CT200 £18

Clicks when dial passes current temperature. Now replaced by a similar model, the DT200.

Impaired dexterity Most managed to use it without difficulty. Buttons to be pressed for 5 seconds to make adjustments. This was disliked by a few people.

Impaired vision The characters on the LCD screen were larger than on some others but a few people wanted better contrast.