Smart Thermostats / Honeywell Home
Honeywell Home X8S (X8VMC8B/U)
Biggest screen and 20 room sensors, over a deliberately minimal Matter layer.
Overall score 7.3/10
Pros
- + Up to 20 room sensors at 200ft range — more sensor coverage than any other thermostat in this comparison bar the ecobees
- + 5in colour touchscreen with a customisable idle screen, and it can display a Ring or First Alert doorbell feed
- + Radar occupancy in the thermostat plus presence detection in each sensor, at $40 under the ecobee Premium
- + The C-Wire Adapter is free — by mail-in voucher — where Amazon, Copeland and ecobee's Essential all charge for theirs
Cons
- − Matter support is thin: air quality data is not exposed over Matter at all and you still cannot schedule through it
- − You must install the First Alert app just to generate the Matter code, which defeats much of the point of Matter
- − Resideo's own page and Home Depot's listing give different stage counts for the same thermostat — verify against your system before buying
- − The free C-wire adapter is a mail-in voucher, not a part in the box, so a C-wire-less install stalls until it arrives
- − Reviewers hit setup failures at launch and found the doorbell integration buried and limited to Ring and First Alert VX1
Honeywell Home X8S (X8VMC8B/U) review: what the specs say
Biggest screen and 20 room sensors, over a deliberately minimal Matter layer. At $219.99, Honeywell Home's 2025 model sits at the premium end of the category — the smart Thermostats we compare run from $79 to $259.99. It scores 7.3/10 overall, calculated from published specifications across 8 categories rather than from a subjective impression.
Its strongest showing is Display & On-Device Control at 9.5/10 — screen quality and how much you can do at the wall instead of in the phone app. The weakest is C-Wire Freedom at 4.5/10, which is the trade-off to weigh before buying: if that is the specification you care about most, one of the alternatives below will serve you better.
Worth knowing before you buy: matter support is thin: air quality data is not exposed over Matter at all and you still cannot schedule through it; and you must install the First Alert app just to generate the Matter code, which defeats much of the point of Matter. Every specification on this page comes from Honeywell Home's own documentation or a verified retail listing — where a figure is not published, the table says so rather than estimating it.
Specifications and price last verified . Report an error
Full Specifications
| System Voltage | Low voltage 24V. Home Depot's listing states plainly that it does not work with 120-240V electric baseboard heat |
| C-Wire Required | Yes — Resideo states the X8S needs a constant 24V supply through a common wire |
| Adapter / Power Kit Included | Not in the box, but Home Depot's listing says the package contains a voucher for a free mail-in Honeywell Home C-Wire Adapter |
| Heating & Cooling Stages | Sources conflict: Resideo's own product page says up to 4 Heat/2 Cool on heat pumps or 3 Heat/4 Cool conventional, while Home Depot's listing for the same product says up to 3 Heat/2 Cool heat pump or 2 Heat/2 Cool conventional |
| Heat Pump & Aux Heat | Yes, heat pump with electric backup |
| Humidifier / Ventilator Terminals | Resideo advertises 'advanced indoor air quality control' but notes additional HVAC equipment may be required, and publishes no plain humidifier/dehumidifier/ventilator terminal list |
| Remote Sensors | One wireless room sensor is included with the X8VMC9W and X8VWF10B SKUs only — not with this one. Up to 20 sensors per home, 200ft range, $44.99 each |
| Occupancy Detection | Yes — onboard radar in the thermostat plus occupancy and presence detection in the room sensors |
| Matter Support | Matter certified, but shallow. Matter Alpha's review found the air quality readings the thermostat measures are not exposed over Matter at all, and scheduling still has to happen on the thermostat or in the First Alert app |
| Voice & Smart Home Platforms | First Alert app by Resideo (required — you cannot generate the Matter pairing code without it), Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple Home via Matter |
| Utility Rebates & Demand Response | ENERGY STAR certified and rebate-eligible; Resideo pitches enrolment in utility energy-management programs |
| Account or Subscription Needed | No subscription for thermostat features. A First Alert account is required, and Resideo ships several different apps which reviewers found confusing |
| Connectivity | 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, 5GHz Wi-Fi (802.11ax/ac), Matter |
| Material | Plastic housing with a 5in customisable colour touchscreen |
| Warranty | 24 months |
Compare Honeywell Home X8S (X8VMC8B/U) With
Cheaper Alternative
Sensi Touch 2 (ST76) — $189.00
Premium Alternative
Google Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen) — $239.99