A/C Thermostats

THERMOSTATS

SAVE ENERGY COSTS:
Your home's thermostat is probably the most important part of your HVAC comfort system. If your home has an outdated thermostat, you may be wasting your energy dollars. As a rule of thumb, every degree you turn down your thermostat will save you 3% of energy costs over a 24 -hour period. Likewise for every degree the old thermostat is off, you will pay 3% extra on your Utility bill.
Do you ever wish that someone else would get up and turn the heat on in the morning? Do you ever wake up late at night and realize that you forgot to turn the heat down? Are you looking for a quality thermostat for a heat pump? Don't you wish that you could set and forget your thermostat? Are the numbers on your thermostat worn down or just too tiny to read? Is that thermostat on the wall older than you?
If your answer to any or all of these questions is YES, It's time to replace that old thermostat. You may want to consider a Programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats can minimize wasted energy. Sometimes by as much as 15% of your utility bill.
SHOULD YOU MOVE YOUR THERMOSTAT? Sometimes it may be necessary to move your thermostat. Thermostats should be mounted away from sources of heat, cold, and drafts. For example:
* They should be mounted on inside walls,
* Away from AC vents or returns,
* Away from stoves or other sources of heat,
* Centrally situated (not on the far side of the house),
* Out of direct sunlight.
If a thermostat is 2 = degrees warmer because of a heat source you will pay an extra 10% on your utility bill. Likewise if it is on an outside wall on a cold day and reads 2 = degrees cooler you will pay 10% more.If you decide to move it you may want to consider a wireless thermostat. It is expensive ($200) but if you have to spend the same amount (or more) to move it you lose nothing and gain all the convenience of a movable one. Besides, you can take it with you if you move.

It will cost $150 to $250 for an AC Company technician to crawl through your attic and move it. You can move the thermostat from room to room at will and you can also have more than one in any room you want (although only one can be active at a time). Wireless thermostats are available through RCI Automation, LLC and other Companies or call your local AC Company. DO IT YOURSELF?

If you wish to replace it yourself you need to be warned of an ELECTRICAL SHOCK HAZARD. Turn off power at the main service panel by removing the fuse or switching the appropriate circuit breaker to the off position before removing or installing any thermostat.Installing a thermostat is a simple do-it-yourself home improvement that can be done in about 30 minutes. Wireless are even easier.
Before you start disconnecting the wires you should become familiar with the colors and labels on the thermostat. Most newer thermostats have a connector that has various letters on it. They are R, C, Y, W1, W2, G, O, and B. Some thermostats do not have all the above letters but they have most. The older "mercury switch" thermostats do not have a connecter but rather small screw contacts but have no fear, they are labeled by letters also. This depends on various factors such as with Heat Pumps, one or two stage compressors, etc. * (R), Red, hot side of transformer (24 volts AC). Be careful! Although this is not high voltage it will still give you a shock.
* (C) Common side of transformer (usually Blue). York and Trane like to use (B) as common. Brown common in York or Trane.
* (Y), Yellow, Compressor activity (cooling or cooling and heating on a heat pump).
* (W), White, Heat (gas burner, oil burner, electric heat, (auxiliary heat on a heat pump including defrost output from the outdoor unit to activate electric heat and turn on the AUX. heat lamp).
* (G), Green, furnace/air handler blower fan. (Needed for air conditioning, heat pumps and some electric furnaces).
* (O), Orange, Energize to cool (used for reversing valve on heat pumps)
* (B), Blue or Orange, Energize to heat (used on some systems, Rheem/Ruud is notorious for this). Follow the steps below and remember to check the owner's manual before installation:
1. Turn off power and remove the old thermostat.
2. Label wires if there is a difference in the color codes above, attach thermostat mounting plate to wall and connect wires to terminals.
3. Snap thermostat onto mounting plate. (Make sure batteries are installed if necessary.)
4. Program new unit (if applicable)
5. Turn all settings to off (including fan)
6. Turn on power.