Thermostat installation guide:
As best we can explain for the non technical
- Checking compatibility:
- Remove current thermostat face. Normally these pull up and out or downward and out.
Once removed, take a picture of your wiring, take a picture of the backside of the thermostat.
Sometimes there are hidden jumpers and details on there that aid in knowing how your current thermostat and system are set up.
- Whats compatible? These combos are not compatible, though not always is that the case. These combos would usually require Pro Installation at all costs.
- -R,G,B terminals.
- -R,G,D
- -R,C,D
- -R,B,D
- -R,C,1,2
- -R,C,-,+
There may very well be a bunch of other combinations that are similar to the above, so lets just move on to what is compatible with a standard AC, heating system.
Totally nest compatible thermostat wiring: Any combination of wires, minimum of 4 wires.
- R, RC, Y, Y1, Y2, W, W1, W2, G, C, B, O.
- C terminals are dangerous, B terminals on Trane systems and older thermostats are also many times a C terminal in disguise. We will discuss the C terminal later in more detail.
Typical AC with a Heat pump and AC with gas or electric heat strip heating wiring, is the most common wiring nationwide.
- RC/R or RC/RH is your power wire.
- Y or Y1 are your cooling Compressor wire.
- G is your fan/Blower manual control wire.
- O/B are your heat pump wires ( you should only be utilizing one or the other.
- C is your common wire, this terminal/wire is a 24 volt power return/loop shall we say.
You may see other things such as U, U1, U2, S1, S2. This is a more complex situation and Innovative Air recommends you get a professional installation. There are a lot of complete idiots and brainless morons who install HVAC equipment (especially in Phoenix) and they also may have your wires mixed up, doubled up, wires in every single terminal and then some.
Lets install a nest thermostat, the right way:
-Once you know your system will be compatible with a Nest thermostat, you can proceed to these steps. Make sure you took pictures of the wiring, the back of the old thermostat and have some idea of what type of ac and heating system you have.
- -SHUT OFF the circuit breakers and turn off any local switches near accessible ac equipment.
-Shut off any breaker labeled AC, Air, Air Handler, AH, A/H, Compressor, Rooftop, attic, furnace.
-Split systems normally have two sets of breakers, the AC outside and the blower inside.
-Rooftops have one breaker.
-Condo and apartment units sometimes only have one.
- -Remove the old thermostat.
- -Mount the Nest sub-base, Use the longer screws, not the metal plate with the tiny screws, that plate is for special installations such as thermostats that are recessed in the wall(wall box).
- -Make sure there is free movement in your thermostat wire. Many customers screw the mounting hardware right into the thermostat wire.
- -Clean up and re-strip your thermostat wires, so they aren't all old, crusty and bent.
- -Make sure there is about a 1/4 inch or so of copper exposed. The wire needs to fit into the slot.
- -Push in the corresponding terminal, slip that terminals wire into it and release.
- -Once all done, make sure corresponding wires are in and the terminal tab is recessed.
If you are replacing a Honeywell and see a wire in W.
The W is a triple purpose terminal in most cases, it can be used for gas heating, electric heating or a heat pump O and heat pump. Which do you have?
If you have a gas furnace you use W1 or W(Nest E)
If you have a heat pump you need to know what brand you have. By default the Nest uses a heat pump setting of O. In other cases B is used with Hvac units such as Ruud, Rheem and come select others. You'll have to access the secret menu in the Honeywell thermostat. Look up the model of your thermostat on google and search for manual. Look for installer set up and it will explain how to get this O/B/W setting info.
- Put the Nest Face on.
- Turn on the breakers.
- The nest should show a little house on the screen and boot up.
Lets get started with the Settings in the NEST:
- -Choose language
- -Connect your network.
- -Confirm your equipment settings.
- -Choose homeowner
- -Choose heat pump setting for heat pump installation .
- -Select O or B depending upon your type of HVAC.
- -If you have a dual fuel system there will be some other choice that arise.
- -Duel fuel means you have a heat pump with gas/oil heating. More common in colder winter states.
- -Like mentioned before, some idiot installers may have ended up putting a wire in both heating type terminals. You may also see both used if you have a really old thermostat or if someone didn't know how to set your original thermostat up properly. These are very common installation problems.
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- -Eco mode, Only use this if you don't mind waiting for your house to cool or heat until you arrive home. Set eco mode for something practical, if you like 78 degrees cooling, don't let your house get hotter than 82 while you're gone. My suggestion is always comfort over savings. So, let the auto schedule feature do the work for you and leave the eco modes off.
- -Test, you can skip the test if you want and move on.
- -Sync to Nest APP.
- -Get entry key.
- -Open up the app, sign up if you already have not.
- -Hit the plus sign after signing up and confirming email.
- -Click continue without scanning.
- -Choose your product.
- -Click already installed.
- -Enter key (It auto caps)
- -Done!!!
Common WIRES: If your original thermostat has a ACTIVE C terminal. You're done.
If you have a situation where you DO NOT HAVE a C terminal active. From a professional standpoint, I'd suggest you get a NEST pro out to activate one. The NEST is the best thermostat and if having a C terminal just keeps things smooth.
Honeywell install manual
Honeywell 8000 series
