How to Install a Programmable Thermostat Yourself

How to Install a Programmable Thermostat Yourself

How to Install a Programmable Thermostat Yourself

Start by going to your electrical service panel and cutting off the power to your heating and air conditioning system. Go to the thermostat and try to turn the furnace or furnace fan on and off to check that the power is off.

Pull the cover off the old thermostat and look for the electrical wires attached inside. You may have to loosen some screws holding the thermostat body to the wall before finding the connecting wires attached to a base plate underneath.

The wires should be color coded. If they aren't, the terminals to which they are connected will be marked red, green, black, etc. Carefully remove the wires one at a time and mark them with a piece of masking tape with a notation indicating the color of the terminal to which they were connected.

Remove the screws holding the old base plate to the wall if you haven't already. Hold on to the wire as you remove the plate so the wires don't slip back into the hole in the wall, and use masking tape to secure the wires to the wall while you prepare to install the new base plate.

A thermostat weighs only a few ounces, so heavy-duty anchoring hardware is not needed in most cases. Just drill a few guide holes through the wallboard for the mounting screws or use lightweight plastic anchors for plaster walls.

The instructions that come with your new thermostat will tell you how to connect the old wires. In most cases, you'll simply attach three to five color coded wires that were connected to the old thermostat to color-coded terminals on the new unit.

--More on Thremostat Install--

Posted on November 11, 2005 20:11 | Heating / Cooling
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