Home Improvement Weekend (Part 2)
The other home improvement undertaking this past weekend was to improve our energy usage.
Thermostat Replacement.
The thermostat that was installed before was the usual "cheap-enough-that-it-gets-the-job-done-but-nothing-more" thermostat with a sealed mercury tube in it.
Jessica's dad had suggested we replace the thermostat with a digital programmable one when we first moved in so that we could have different temperatures throughout the day without constantly changing the setting. A digital one would also better manage on/off cycles versus the mechanical mercury tube system to prolong system life.
I did buy a digital thermostat in September but neglected to install it because when I took the cover off the first time and saw this:
I decided that it wasn't worth the effort because the wires were soldered on, and I had no idea what I was doing. I thought I would have to unsolder the wires and solder them onto the new thermostat. Not worth it then.
Since then, however, Jessica and I have renewed our lease so we're going to be here for at least another 17 months. And given the household success of installing the laundry pedestals the day before, I was ready to try it again.
I used the information on the old thermostat (Honeywell T834C 1137) to find its manual (thank you, houseneeds.com) and learned that what I had seen before was a "settings" panel that and that there was yet another piece that was the real connection panel. So four undone screws and no unsoldering later:
Ah ha, that was more like it! If you're in need of knowing what each connection is:
So four more screws off for the wires and two more off for the panel itself, and we're left with a group of wires coming out of the wall.
The thermostat I purchased in September was a Honeywell TH2110D1009. It's a 5-2 day programmable thermostat, which allows you to set four time periods (wake, leave, return, sleep) for weekdays and another four periods for weekends. I went with this particular model because it was the cheapest vertically-oriented digital thermostat; our wall space prohibits a horizontally-oriented thermostat.
I had to cut some of the bare wires so that they were the correct length for the new thermostat connection panel without the possibility of them touching and shorting.
I also had to place the new connection plate slightly above where the old one was due to the low position of the hole cutout on the new connection plate. You can see the wall discoloration below the new connection plate:
The connections available to me did not have a 24VAC wire to power the thermostat itself so the unit runs off of 2 AAA batteries, which is why the faceplate is on without it being attached to the connection panel. You can also see that I prefer the 24-hour display of the time.
So I realize I should've done this back in September when I intended to do it because this was a really easy project. So...do your research and don't give up!
I'll switch the thermostats back when we move out; I've already given this place enough with a grassy backyard and I surely can't take that with us at move-out!
You may now turn the circuit breakers back on.
Thermostat Replacement.
The thermostat that was installed before was the usual "cheap-enough-that-it-gets-the-job-done-but-nothing-more" thermostat with a sealed mercury tube in it.
 |
| Faceplate of old thermostat after I had already taken it off. |
Jessica's dad had suggested we replace the thermostat with a digital programmable one when we first moved in so that we could have different temperatures throughout the day without constantly changing the setting. A digital one would also better manage on/off cycles versus the mechanical mercury tube system to prolong system life.
I did buy a digital thermostat in September but neglected to install it because when I took the cover off the first time and saw this:
 |
| Old thermostat with faceplate off. |
Since then, however, Jessica and I have renewed our lease so we're going to be here for at least another 17 months. And given the household success of installing the laundry pedestals the day before, I was ready to try it again.
REMEMBER TO TURN OFF THE A/C and HEATER CIRCUIT BREAKERS!
I used the information on the old thermostat (Honeywell T834C 1137) to find its manual (thank you, houseneeds.com) and learned that what I had seen before was a "settings" panel that and that there was yet another piece that was the real connection panel. So four undone screws and no unsoldering later:
 |
| Old thermostat connection panel. |
- R - power
- W - heat relay
- Y - compressor contactor (for A/C, and usually a yellow wire)
- G - fan relay
So four more screws off for the wires and two more off for the panel itself, and we're left with a group of wires coming out of the wall.
The thermostat I purchased in September was a Honeywell TH2110D1009. It's a 5-2 day programmable thermostat, which allows you to set four time periods (wake, leave, return, sleep) for weekdays and another four periods for weekends. I went with this particular model because it was the cheapest vertically-oriented digital thermostat; our wall space prohibits a horizontally-oriented thermostat.
I had to cut some of the bare wires so that they were the correct length for the new thermostat connection panel without the possibility of them touching and shorting.
I also had to place the new connection plate slightly above where the old one was due to the low position of the hole cutout on the new connection plate. You can see the wall discoloration below the new connection plate:
 |
| New thermostat faceplate (left) and connection panel (right). |
The connections available to me did not have a 24VAC wire to power the thermostat itself so the unit runs off of 2 AAA batteries, which is why the faceplate is on without it being attached to the connection panel. You can also see that I prefer the 24-hour display of the time.
 |
| New thermostat on the wall! The LCD also lights up (not shown) for nighttime use! |
I'll switch the thermostats back when we move out; I've already given this place enough with a grassy backyard and I surely can't take that with us at move-out!
You may now turn the circuit breakers back on.
Comments
Post a Comment