Reduce the cost of heating and cooling your home, install a programmable digital thermostat

Did you know that the average American family spends in excess of $2,200 every year to heat and cool their homes? Did you know that you could reduce your heating and cooling cost by 9 percent by installing and using a programmable, digital thermostat? With today’s soaring energy costs that is a sizable amount when you considered that you can install a digital programmable thermostat yourself in 30 to 60 minutes depending on your skill level for as little as $40 to $50. Every manufacturer provides detailed installation instructions with their thermostats so the information that I will provide you with here will be of a general nature and applicable to all brands of thermostats.

There are basically three types of programmable thermostats, the 5-1-1 day programmable thermostat, the 5-2 day programmable thermostat and the 7 day programmable thermostat. The 5-1-1 thermostat allows you to set one program for weekdays and separate programs for Saturday and Sunday. The 5-2 thermostat allows you to set one program for the weekdays and a second program for the weekends. The 7 day programmable thermostat enables you to set a different temperature program for each day of the week. Which style is best for you depend on your lifestyle? The 7 day programmable thermostat offers you the most flexibility and is the one I prefer to install and the one that I recommend to the do-it-yourselfer

Tools and supplies that you will need

· Phillips head screwdriver

· Flat blade screwdriver

· Wire cutters/strippers

· hammer

· Jab saw

· Twist drills

· Drill/driver

· Pencil

· Thermostat

The Jab Saw AKA Wallboard saw, will be needed if you are replacing a surfaced mounted thermostat with a recessed unit. The recessed units provide a much more modern appearance than the older surface mounted units.

Installing the new thermostat

· Thermostatic controls are low-voltage devices but you should still turn the power off at the breaker panel before starting work

· Remove the cover of the old thermostat and disconnect the control wires

· Thermostats, depending on the system design can have anywhere from 2 to 10 wires connected to it so you should label the wires as you disconnected them from the old thermostat. The easiest way to label the conductors is to wrap a piece of masking tape around it write the letter of the terminal it connects to on it or the color of the wire it attaches to on it

· Wrap the wires around a pencil or wooden dowel to keep them from pulling back inside the wall

· If the old thermostat has a tube containing mercury don’t toss it in the trash but contact your trash pickup to find out how to dispose of it properly

· Now is the time to hold the new thermostats backing plate against the wall and mark where you will have to drill and insert the plastic wall anchors, or, if you’re installing a flush mounted thermostat make the cut out for the thermostat’s mounting box

· If it’s a surface mount drill the holes and gently tap the anchors in place. If it’s a flush mount unit, pull the wires through the back of the mounting box and slip the box in place

· Connect the wires to the new thermostat follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully

· Install the battery(s) being sure to observe the proper polarity. It’s possible to damage the circuitry if the polarity is reversed even for a second or two

· Snap the cover in place, turn the power on and you are ready to start programming your new thermostat

Programming the thermostat

Every manufacturer provides detailed programming instruction for their thermostats so I’m simply going to provide you with a few rules of thumb here table format.

Programmable Thermostat Set Point Times and Temperature