How to lower temp on honeywell thermostat

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Programmable thermostats are great. I love the idea of being able to set a temperature schedule for my home and not have to keep fiddling with the thermostat all the time.

However, there could be a sudden heatwave or a nip in the air, making you want to change the temperature for a little while.

This is where the hold feature of the Honeywell Thermostat comes into the picture.

After going through the user manual and a few articles on the internet, I was able to understand clearly how this hold feature works.

Honeywell thermostats come with two hold settings, temporary and permanent, and it is important to know the difference between the two so that you can determine when to use each setting.

Your Honeywell thermostat’s permanent hold feature lets you override your programmed schedule to manually set a temperature for an indefinite period of time.

To enable permanent hold on your Honeywell Thermostat, toggle the temperature and either press hold or press and hold the button until a message appears, depending on the thermostat model.

In this article, we will discuss both the temporary and permanent hold settings and look at how and when to use them.

What Is A Temporary Hold And How To Activate It?

The Temporary Hold is a feature of Honeywell programmable thermostats where your thermostat lets you deviate from your schedule and set your own temperature manually for a fixed period of time.

Most thermostats will let you set a temporary hold for a maximum period of 11 hours. Your thermostat may not come with that feature.

If that’s the case, it will maintain the temperature until the next programmed period.

To turn on the temporary hold, simply press the +/- or up/down buttons, and set a ‘Hold Until’ time, if available. 

How To Deactivate A Temporary Hold

You can deactivate the temporary hold at any time and continue your thermostat’s programmed schedule.

To do this, press the Run, Cancel, Run Schedule, Use Schedule, Remove hold, or Cancel Hold options, depending on the Honeywell thermostat model that you own.

Some models may even have a ⏎ button to cancel the hold. 

If you cannot figure out how to do this, you can refer to the user manual/guide that came with the Honeywell thermostat for more instructions.

What Is A Permanent Hold And How To Activate

The permanent hold feature of your Honeywell thermostat works very similarly to the temporary hold feature.

However, with the permanent hold, you get to manually set your temperature and hold it for an indefinite period of time instead of a fixed period until you turn off the permanent hold.

The steps to activate this feature are different based on the model that you own.

For earlier models, you just have to press the hold button and then set your desired temperature.

If you own a newer model, like the ones with a touchscreen display or the ones that come with an app to configure your settings remotely, you can press the +/- or the up/down buttons to change the temperature.

After this, you either need to tap the hold button or press hold until you see a message (Permanent Hold, Switch to Permanent Hold, Permanently or Permanent).

How To Deactivate A Permanent Hold

Turning off the permanent hold on your Honeywell thermostat is the same as turning off the temporary hold.

Before you turn it off, however, you might have to Unlock your Honeywell Thermostat.

For some of the other models like the T4 Pro, the process is completely different.

You will have to press the +/- or up/down buttons first and then press Cancel or Remove hold.

If you own a Lyric T5 Wi-Fi, you can deactivate the hold by pressing Permanent Hold and then pressing Run Schedule.

If you are still unable to figure it out, you can always refer to the official user guide/manual that came with your Honeywell thermostat.

Advantages Of The Hold Feature And When To Use It

The hold feature is a nice, handy quality that Honeywell thermostats provide that lets you stray away from your programmed temperature schedule.

There are many situations when you might want to use it. For example, if there is a sudden heatwave or a chill in the air and you want to change the temperature for a while until it subsides, or if you have guests over who prefer the room to be a little warmer or cooler.

You can also use the hold feature to keep your thermostat idle when you’re going out on vacation or a holiday.

Final Thoughts

The hold feature of the Honeywell programmable thermostats is great to use for times when you need to change the temperature temporarily but don’t want to mess with your programmed schedule.

It is very easy to activate and deactivate and can be set for a fixed period of time or indefinitely, based on your needs.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I override my Honeywell programmable thermostat?

To override your Honeywell programmable thermostat, open up the display’s outer case to see the function keys.

Press and hold the display button and press the off button once at the same time.

While still holding down the display button, press the up arrow key and release all the buttons together.

Your Honeywell thermostat is now in manual mode. 

How do I reset my programmable thermostat?

To reset your Honeywell programmable thermostat, follow these steps:

1. Open up the main menu on the display.
2. Scroll over until you find the Reset option.
3. Select it and then select the Factory option under it for a full factory reset. You also have options to reset Wi-Fi, Schedule, and HomeKit.
4. You will be asked to confirm your option. Select yes to complete the reset.

Where is the Cancel button on the Honeywell thermostat?

You should find the cancel button on the display of your Honeywell thermostat.

For most models, it appears on the bottom right corner of the screen.

How do I set the temperature on my Honeywell thermostat?

Generally, Honeywell thermostats can be programmed to change the temperature hour-by-hour based on a pre-programmed schedule.

However, if you want to change the thermostat’s temperature for a while temporarily, you can make use of the temporary hold and permanent hold features.

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