the only way to come close to matching the HS1 features is a VE 200D and a VE300 and a VE100 as failsafe with the ND module. That gives you half the features there actually is no comparison. The HS intro has the same features as most of the VEs and has the added soft heat and alarms which IMO is worth extra (but the intro is less that any VE) IMO it is a no brainer.The toss up is between the ecozone and herpstat.