I bought a Hunter Programmable Thermostat #44110. It's Energy Star rated, which is what I was looking for (obviously). I really only had a need for two program settings: 5 weekdays and 2 weekend days. It has four "settings" during each of the two programs: so I starts to cool even more as the sun comes up and I leave for the day, it keeps it cool enough for my pet during the days when it gets near 100deg, then at night when it cools off, the temp is moderated back down. The display shows the time and temp inside. I bought it because my existing, old mercury bubble thermostat was useless. The weather can change in an hour here, and often does in summer. If it's nice in the morning, it can get over 80 by 2pm. With a pet at home, I had to decide to leave the windows open and the air on, thereby wasting massive energy. When I'd get home, my house would either be freezing cold or stifling warm and muggy. The day I installed the new programmable thermostat, the very first thing it showed me was the current temp inside my house: 83 degrees. My A/C hadn't kicked on AT ALL that day, and I knew it was hot. The A/C ran until the temp was 79deg (where I programmed it), and it's kept my house at a consistent, pleasant temp. The best thing! I got my electric bill today. The past two months it's been over $100 while running the A/C. This month (where it's been over 90deg and humidity over 80% nearly every day), my bill was $57. And that cost is including my Pure Power extra cost, as I'm subscribed for 100% wind energy. Saving almost half my electric bill is AMAZING, and I'm very, very comfortable now and rarely have to adjust the temp up or down a degree. I've left it on 78 or 79 and it kept the place cool, even when it hit 93 today. Such a drastic improvement!

Interesting about the new thermostat and all the $ saved. Would you mind posting some info about the specific thermostat you bought, and if it works well? Other rallyers might want to kno. Thx.