A Guide to Installing a Smart Thermostat

Guide to Installing a Smart Thermostat

Compared to traditional thermostats, smart thermostats provide a number of important advantages in terms of both convenience and energy efficiency. Smart thermostats allow you to instantly adjust your heating or cooling system at the push of a button using the connected app on your smartphone. This means you can adjust the temperature while you’re still at work to ensure your house is comfortable when you get home.

A smart thermostat can also learn your schedule and behavior and make automatic adjustments without you having to do a thing. Most units will also monitor your furnace and air conditioner to ensure they are working as efficiently as possible. They can even notify you when your HVAC system needs maintenance or repairs. For these reasons and more, a smart thermostat is definitely something every homeowner should consider installing, and here’s how you go about doing just that.

Important Things to Consider Before Installation

Most smart thermostats come with step-by-step instructions and even video guides that enable you to install the unit on your own without much trouble. However, doing so could cause serious damage to your HVAC equipment if you’re not careful. For this reason, it is usually best to leave the job to a professional HVAC technician or electrician.

If you do decide to do the job on your own, timing is an important thing to take into account. Specifically, you should do the work during a time when you won’t need to rely on your HVAC system. This means avoiding any extremely hot or cold days when you need your furnace or AC to keep the home comfortable. In most cases, the job shouldn’t take much more than an hour. However, if you mess up, you could be stuck without heating or air conditioning for a few hours or even days until you can get a professional to make things right.

You should also make sure to hold on to your old thermostat until you know that the new smart thermostat is working properly. This allows you to reconnect your old thermostat if something goes wrong or you can’t get the new thermostat to work or connect to your Wi-Fi network.

Removing the Old Thermostat

The first step is to remove your old thermostat. However, before you do this, it is essential to turn off the power to your HVAC system at the breaker panel. Depending on how your home is wired, the system may be on one circuit or use multiple circuits for different components such as the furnace and air conditioner. Turning off the power ensures you won’t accidentally get shocked, and it prevents you from shorting out any of the electrical components in your HVAC system.

With the power shut off, your next task is to remove the cover plate from the old thermostat to expose the wiring. The faceplate should usually pop off, but there could be a small screw or two holding it in place. With the cover plate off, it’s a good idea to take a picture of the wiring to make sure you can rewire the new unit correctly. Many smart thermostats also come with stickers that can be placed on each wire so you know what they go to. The last steps are to disconnect the wiring and unscrew the backplate from the wall.

Installing the New Thermostat

The first step to installing the new thermostat is to mount the backplate on the wall. In most cases, you’ll need to use wall anchors to ensure it is mounted securely. This means using the backplate as a template and then drilling holes in the wall where the mounting screws will go. Next, pull the wires through the opening on the backplate, and then screw the plate to the wall.

Once the plate is mounted on the wall, you’ll need to reconnect each wire to the appropriate terminal. This is the most crucial step since the thermostat may not work, or your HVAC equipment may incur damage if you don’t wire the unit properly. Still, this step is usually fairly straightforward as long as you make sure to note which wires go to which terminals.

After the unit is wired, you can pop the faceplate on and then turn the power to the system back on. Once powered, the thermostat will take a few seconds or minutes to boot up. From there, all that’s left is to follow the manufacturer’s instructions to connect the unit to your Wi-Fi network, and you should be good to go.

If you’re considering installing a smart thermostat in your home but worry about damaging the unit or your HVAC system, our expert technicians at All Temp Co., Inc Air Conditioning, Heating, Plumbing, & Electrical are ready to help. We are located in Concord, NC, and also serve Harrisburg and the surrounding areas.

We have been providing professional heating and cooling services to customers for nearly 40 years. Our technicians can work on any type of HVAC equipment, and we can also help you replace or upgrade your old heating or cooling system. For more information on smart thermostats or any of our other services, give All Temp Co., Inc Air Conditioning, Heating, Plumbing, & Electrical a call today.