How to Install a Digital Programmable Thermostat

With utility bills constantly on the rise, it is often up to homeowners to take matters into their own hands to help control costs. One of the easiest ways to help conserve energy and make your home a more comfortable place, is to replace your old rotary thermostat with a newer, programmable digital thermostat.

How do digital thermostats help save money on your utility bill? Because you can program and control the temperature. When you are not at home, you do not have to have the air conditioning or furnace running as much, so you can save money by programming the temperature accordingly.

Are you ready to save money on your utility bills? Then let's look at how to install a digital programmable thermostat.

Things You'll Need

• Screwdriver
• Torpedo Level
• Wire strippers
• Pencil

Instructions

1. Remove the existing thermostat. Depending on the style, you may be able to simply pull the cover off or you may have to loosen a set screw first.

2. Turn the power off to the furnace or air conditioner. This will prevent it from turning on if you accidentally touch the wires together.

3. Once the cover is removed, you should see a glass tube filled with a silvery liquid. This is the mercury, so be careful not to break the glass.

   You will also see the thin thermostat wires. Loosen the screws holding the thermostat wires and remove the wires.

4. Unscrew the thermostat's back plate from the wall and remove it. Make sure that the thermostat wires do not slip back into the wall, as they can be very difficult to try and fish back out. Wrap the wires around a pencil or anything large enough to keep them from falling through the hole in the wall.

5. Next, take the back plate to the new thermostat and place it over the hole where the wires are coming out of the wall. Use the torpedo level to ensure that the back plate is level and then use the pencil to mark the wall where the screws will be screwed in.

6. Take a thin screwdriver (or a thin drill bit) and punch holes where you marked the wall with the pencil. Insert the plastic anchors that came with the thermostat and make sure that they are flush with the wall.

7. Fish the thermostat wires through the hole on the back plate and screw the plate into the anchors. Double check that the back plate is level using the torpedo level.

8. Many digital thermostats have the wire terminals on the inside of the back plate, while others may feature them on the back side of the cover.

   Because thermostat wire is so thin and brittle, it makes sense to use the wire strippers to cut the ends off of each wire and strip a new section of wire. Strip about 3/4 inches of insulation from the end of each wire.

9. Bend the exposed wire into a "U" shape. The terminals on the thermostat are commonly marked:
   R for the red wire, G for the green wire, Y for the yellow wire, and so on. However, that is not always the case. Refer to the installation manual that came with your thermostat if it reads differently.

10. Place the "U" shape of the wire under the proper screw and tighten it down. Be careful not to overtighten, as the wire can break easily. Do this for each wire.

11. Snap the thermostat's cover in place and insert the necessary battery. Turn the power to the unit back on.

12. Follow the instruction manual that came with the digital thermostat to set the date and time and program the available time slots.

    Within a month's time, you should begin to notice an improvement in your utility bill, but as far as the comfort level in your house is concerned, you will feel that improve immediately.

Tips & Warnings

• Before you remove the wires from the old thermostat, write down in a notebook which color wire is connected to which terminal. This helps if the wires used are not the common color-coded wires.

• In the winter, program your thermostat for cooler temperatures at night and for when nobody is home, and program it for warmer temperatures in the summer during the same periods.

• Thermostat wires carry a low voltage current through them so you may feel a very light shock if you touch two of them simultaneously.