The ability to change the temperature is a must-have feature in your smart home, and that’s where the thermostat comes in. A smart thermostat enables you to change your home’s temperature according to your requirements. Not only that, but they also help you in saving energy.
With an increase in the number of people opting for a smart home, it is important to understand how to wire a thermostat and what these wires signify. In this article, you will discover different types of thermostat wiring and color coding.
Understanding where the colored wires go:
- White wire in your thermostat is used to link your heating system.
- Yellow wire in your thermostat is used to link your compressor.
- The green wire in your thermostat is used to link your air handler.
- Orange wire in your thermostat is used to connect your heat pump.
- The red wire is used for power.
- Blue wires are the common wires.
Does R go to RC or RH?
Quick Navigation
The R wire is the wire that makes it possible to power up your entire HVAC system with the help of a transformer.
The RC wire is used to power the cooling system, and the RH wire is used to power the heating system. If you are wondering if the R wire needs to go through RC or RH, then the answer is yes. Since it can be connected to either one of those.
If there is only one single R wire, then you will have to use that connection. As there is only one R connector.
What are the 7 thermostat wires?
A thermostat has 16 sockets and 7 colored wires. Usually, these colored wires are hidden behind the control panel, so you have to remove them to expose the wires.
Understanding each of their characteristics is very important if you want to wire a thermostat by yourself.
1. Black or Blue Wire (C):
This is a very important wire that helps your smart thermostat to generate power. Usually, a thermostat has two types of C-wires, one of them is blue colored, and the other one could be black. These wires provide an uninterrupted 24V electric circuit.
2. Red Wire (R/RC):
This wire is mainly for power and offers back-to-back volt AC power. Most of the time, these kinds of wires are for air conditioning systems or dual transformers. This wire provides power for straight 24 hours.
3. White Wire (W1/W2):
The main purpose of this wire is to provide heat. Although these are available in gas furnace thermostats, they are not required by an air conditioner thermostat. These wires can also offer dual-stage heating if they came with a W2 coding.
4. Orange Wire (O):
These wires are coded as O in the thermostat. These wires help in reversing the cooling of your valves. You can find this wire in air-source heat pumps.
5. Dark Blue Wire for B (O/B):
The main function of this wire is for the reversal of the heating in the valves. These wires are required when the heating is on for the t-stat terminal. Both this and the Orange wires are exchangeable.
6. Green Wire (G):
The main function of this wire is to manage the fan of your air handler or furnace. This wire allows us to link to the G-spot terminal and can even stop the furnace. Moreover make sure you use a Furnace filter.
7. Yellow Wire (Y1 and Y2):
This one is extremely important as it helps in managing the air conditioner and all of its systems.
Thanks to this wire as we can connect to the compressor. The Y1 coding provides us with common cooling. Whereas the Y2 wire provides us with dual cooling.
- Wiring when installing new Thermostat.
- 2-wire thermo wiring.
write about where this type of wiring is suitable….
Process of installation:
- 3-wire thermo wiring.
- 4-wire thermo wiring.
- 5-wire thermo wiring.
What happens if you wire a thermostat wrong?
Wiring a thermostat wrong could lead to serious problems. Although it might seem like a good idea to wire the thermostat yourself, it can end up causing serious harm.
Here is the list of problems you might face when you wire your thermostat in the wrong way:
- Electric shock.
- Damaging the circuit.
- Damaging the furnace/Air conditioner.
- Damaging the thermostat itself.
Based on your thermostat’s manufacturer, you might also lose its warranty. A thermostat installed by yourself might be inefficient and it is not worth it, if you have to pay for repairs later.
What’s the blue wire on a thermostat?
The blue wire is also known as the C-wire or Common wire, it is a wire which helps in generating your smart thermostat. The C-wire doesn’t need to be blue.
It can also be black. This wire provides an uninterrupted 24V electric circuit in your thermostat. A lot of digital thermostats require for this wire. The list can include ecobee thermostats, sensei, and nest thermostats.
Final Talk
Configuring a thermostat by yourself is not at all easy, so if you think you can’t do it by yourself. Then we advise you to take the help of a professional. Since the consequences of doing this yourself can be fatal, make sure that you know what you are doing. Are you can dispute a wireless smart thermostat for multiple zones at home.
Leave a Reply