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Written by Miranda Huey   
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Monday, 15 June 2009

Programmable Thermostats

If you've got a manual thermostat, it's the time to switch to a programmable thermostat. This simple technology can make a huge impact in your life. Once you install it, you won't know how you lived without it. They're great for the environment, save you time and effort, and can lower your electricity bill!

Benefits for the environment: Once you turn on a manual thermostat it stays on, whether or not you need it to actually be running. Now with a programmable thermostat, you can program the thermostat around your schedule. That way, you could reduce energy wasted in heating or cooling your house when you don't want or need it to be running. The less energy you use, the less electricity you use, which is always a good thing for the environment.

Benefits of saving time and effort: If you use a manual thermostat, you're probably turning it on and off all the time, whenever you leave the house or go to bed. On the other hand, a programmable thermostat can automatically set the temperature that you want your house to be when you are away or when you're sleeping. Why spend that extra time and energy monitoring your thermostat when you don't have to?

Benefits for your wallet: As you know, electricity costs money, and installing a programmable thermostat can help lower your C In fact, an Energy Star programmable thermostat can actually reduce your heating and cooling bills by about 20-30% per year.1

Time and Effort: Low to Medium
Installing a programmable thermostat isn't physically strenuous or tediously repetitive, but it does require a few careful and thoughtful steps to ensure that it gets set up correctly.

Cost: Low to High
You can easily buy a programmable thermostat for just $20-$40 shopping on the internet or in major hardware stores.2 There are of course pricier options available…

Instructions:

Choosing the thermostat best for you: There are three main models of programmable thermostats that vary based on the degree of flexibility that you are looking for. 7-day models allow for a different schedule for each of the separate days of the week. 5+2 day models allows for two separate schedules: one for weekdays, and another for weekends. 5-1-1 models allow for three separate schedules: one for weekdays, another for Saturdays, and another for Sundays.

Installing the thermostat:

Materials & Tools Needed:3
Screwdriver
Pencils
Masking Tape
Drill
Hammer
Plastic anchors

Instructions:
1. Turn off the power: Since you don't want to get electrocuted when you install your new thermostat, you should shut off the power at the circuit breaker or service panel.4 If you want to stay on the safe side and there's enough daylight to see what you're doing, you can just switch everything to the “off” position.5 If there are other people who can accidentally switch it back on while you're still working, be sure to post a sticky note saying “Do Not Touch.” on the service panel.6

2. Take off the old thermostat cover: Using your screwdriver, unscrew the cover of the old thermostat and take it off. Be careful with older thermostats that have glass tubes, since those might contain potentially dangerous levels of mercury.7

3. Take off the old thermostat mounting plate: Again, using your screwdriver, take off the mounting plate of the old thermostat. If you happen to have painted your wall when the old thermostat was in place, check to make sure your new thermostat will fit over the area that the old thermostat fit over.8 Remove any old mounting screws from the wall.9

4. Label the wires: If the thermostat wires connect to an electrical box, you may want to talk to an electrician. If the wires are protruding out of a wall, tie the wires around a pencil to keep them from receding back into the wall. A lot of new models come with sticker labels that you can use to label the wires coming out of the wall. If your model doesn't, wrap some masking tape around each of the wires and label them each according to the letters and numbers on the back of the original thermostat.11

5. Disconnect the wires: Slowly and carefully disconnect the wires from the old thermostat, continuing to hold them to prevent them from receding into the wall.

6. Position the new thermostat base: Pull the wires through the base of the thermostat and twist them around a pencil with a length greater than the width of the hole in the wall, to prevent them from receding into the wall. Position the new base onto the wall, and use a level to make sure the thermostat base is vertically upright. There will be holes in the base which will be used to mount the thermostat. Use a pencil to mark on the wall, through those holes, where you want the mounting anchors to go.

7. Drill the mounting holes: After marking off the holes, pull the base back off the wall. Using a drill, drill 3/16 inch diameter holes where you had marked.

8. Put the base back on the wall: Pull the wires through the base of the thermostat once again and push the base back up against the wall. After confirming again that the base is level, gently hammer in the plastic anchors into the mounting holes in the wall.

9. Secure the base to the wall: Insert the mounting screws into the holes in the mounting anchors. Using a screwdriver, tighten the mounting screws into the mounting anchors, which will secure the base to the wall.

10. Reconnect the wires to your new thermostat: Connect wires to the screw terminals, matching the labels to the letters on the terminals. Use the thermostat manual to make sure everything is connected correctly. If there is not enough wire sticking out of the insulation, use a wire stripper to cut down ¼ of the insulation.12

11. Install the front cover of the new thermostat: Now you can mount your new thermostat onto the wall plate.13

12. Turn the power back on: Once you've finished manually installing the thermostat, you can turn the power back on.14

13. Program your programmable thermostat: Using your instruction manual, you can program your thermostat. Try to set your thermostat to lowest usage when you are away from the house and when you are sleeping. For example, the pre-programmed settings for an Energy Star thermostat are heating/cooling at the desired temperature between 6:00 am and 8:00 am, then, between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm, allowing for a natural temperature rise or cool up to 8 degrees away from the desired temperature. The same cycle occurs again at night.15
Good luck and hopefully setting up your own programmable thermostat will make your home and the environment a more comfortable place!

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1 http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Improve/ProgramThermostat.html.
2 http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productList&N=4294961544&Ne=4294967294&Ntk=
i_products&Ntt=ENERGY+STAR+Programmable+Thermostats.
3 http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Improve/ProgramThermostat.html.
4 http://www.cornerhardware.com/howto/ht018.html.
5 http://frugaldad.com/2008/08/28/how-to-install-programmable-thermostat/.
6 http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/he_heating_cooling_systems/article/0,,DIY_13894_2276103,00.html.
7 http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Improve/ProgramThermostat.html.
8 Id.
9 http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/he_heating_cooling_systems/article/0,,DIY_13894_2276103,00.html.
10 http://frugaldad.com/2008/08/28/how-to-install-programmable-thermostat/.
11 http://www.cornerhardware.com/howto/ht018.html.
12 http://www.cornerhardware.com/howto/ht018.html.
13 http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Improve/ProgramThermostat.html.
14 http://www.cornerhardware.com/howto/ht018.html.
15 http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=thermostats.pr_thermostats.




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