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Today's Adventure: Installing a Wi-Fi Thermostat.

Passepartout

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This is a case of a little knowledge/skill may be worse than none.

The old one was losing it's programming, and because it's in our second home, I thought it would be good to be able to set the temp several hours before our arrival. So I tore right into it, noticing that the red wire went to the R terminal, the white one went to W, the green one, to G, etc. What could go wrong? Job done, wires to the corresponding terminals in the shiny new 'Sensi' thermostat screw it to the wall, smash the excess wires neatly behind it, put the cover play onto the base, and Voila! Silence. No fan, no cool, NOTHING.

OK, retrace steps. Open the booklet (finally) Oh, it says to turn off the power. Aw, heck, I'm a manly man and it's just 24 volts. What could go wrong? Oh, the booklet says to take a picture of the wire configuration in the lot unit. Did I? Well, it said it was 'optional'. Did I mention it's forecast to be 100? So I call an HVAC guy and he can be here in 4 hours (or so) What could go wrong? OK, here in the booklet is a phone number for support. I call. After a short wait, a guy answers. Midwestern accent. So we go through all the wiring (again) and still nothing. He gives up and says there is a furnace problem. No sweat, the HVAC guy is coming.

I walk the dog, help the neighbors, fix lunch, twiddle my thumbs, spend time on TUG. Did I mention the acrid, hot electrical smell? Yup. The furnace guy shows up (2 hours later than he said) and tells me I fried a transformer. He fixes it, installed a fuse to keep that from happening again, the cool air is flowing, all is well.

But the thermostat is STILL not Wi-Fi. So back to that support phone number. This time it's a South Asian accent. So I'm both talking on my Android phone AND fiddling with the programming of the thermostat, remembering the wi-fi system password, and more stuff than I usually need to at one time. It took a couple of re-do's, but finally, everything works.

Boy am I thirsty!

Jim
 

moonstone

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Good for you for persisting and getting it working!
Our oldest DS installed one on the house he just moved into as it had the old dial style thermostat. He then got called out of town for work for an extended period leaving his family in the "new" house.
DiL couldn't understand why the A/C wasn't staying at the setting she wanted until DS fessed up that he was resetting the thermostat with his I-phone (from BC)!

I told her to watch out, next he'll be looking through her laptop camera to see what she & the kids are doing! Haha!

~Diane
 

PamMo

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Hilarious!!!!! I love your story, Jim! That's totally something that would happen to me!
 

slip

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I had problems installing my Sensi here to. My furnace wires weren't color coded correctly. Mine worked but the fan wouldn't shut off. It took my HVAC guy awhile to figure it out so I felt better not being able to get it right.:)
 

VegasBella

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I'm so sorry this happened to you. I did pretty much the same thing years ago. Not a wifi thermostat, just a newer one that had many more energy saving features than the old one. I did it myself and screwed the whole thing up. Learned from that mistake about the 'take pictures of the old stuff first before you undo it all' rule for home repair :D

Luckily, hubs installed a new wifi thermostat recently and it all works great! We are very happy with it. One of the cool features is that you can set it to alert you if certain temps are reached. So we can hopefully if something happens and the a/c breaks and our home's interior temp rises dramatically while we're not home, we will be alerted in time to rescue our pets.
 

vacationhopeful

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I got solar panels YEARS ago at the old house. I moved a couple of months ago ... and dang this house is hotter than Hades even with the central air. Old house had old fashion window AC units.

I forgot to MOVE the solar panels ... BUT I did remember, this house's electric meter does NOT spin backward.
 

Passepartout

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Minor update. Now that the installation is complete, the thermostat doesn't 'see' the wi-fi. The router is only about 25 feet away. There is some furniture between the two, so it isn't exactly 'line-of-sight'. The router is about 15 years old. It was the one I bought when we first got broadband, so I'm sure a newer one might be 'stronger'. OR there are boosters that could be placed between the two. So far, I'm into this project just shy of $300 and have exactly the same control over the HVAC system there as I had before ordering a new thermostat.

It feels like one of those scam deals where they keep telling you that you just need to give them 'just a little more money' to be the big winner.

Be careful what you ask for. . . .
 

PigsDad

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If your router is that old, I would definitely first try replacing it. Not only will it probably solve your connection issue w/ the thermostat, it will definitely be faster for you other wifi devices in your home.

Kurt
 

Sea Six

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I'd like to replace my thermostat with a Wifi model, but I'd first have to replace the 4 wire cable with a 5 wire cable, and I don't feel like working in the attic when it's 92 outside. I can wait a few months!
 

Talent312

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...I don't feel like working in the attic when it's 92 outside. I can wait a few months!

I hear that! I got an insane idea that this is a good time to replace an outside light fixture over our garage.
It seems that I can't get it down from outside -- the screws were covered by hardiboard and sealed in place.

I went into the attic to deal with it from the backside. I couldn't stay more than 20 minutes.
It's still very much in place. My next plan is to wait until October.
.
 
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Passepartout

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If your router is that old, I would definitely first try replacing it. Not only will it probably solve your connection issue w/ the thermostat, it will definitely be faster for you other wifi devices in your home.
Thanks Kurt. I think that's the best plan. A new router doesn't cost much more than a repeater/booster, and as you say, it may improve the wi-fi performance all around. We normally have 6-7 devices that access the router running there, and this is the first time I've noticed any deficiency, but if I'm going to monkey with it I might as well update it.

Funny (odd, not haha) how not so long ago, we got along with one dial up modem of maybe 14,400 kbps (or less) to access the internet on a single desktop for the household, and now phones, watches, cameras, laptops, tablets, Echo's, TV's, even fridges and thermostats (who knew), and much more need internet access.

Fwiw, the Sansi thermostat decided it has access to the wi-fi now, so I CAN control it from my phone! YAY!

Jim
 

isisdave

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I'd like to replace my thermostat with a Wifi model, but I'd first have to replace the 4 wire cable with a 5 wire cable, and I don't feel like working in the attic when it's 92 outside. I can wait a few months!
Are you missing the C-wire? If so, you can Google "thermostat C wire" and find several alternatives for getting around this problem. And if's another wire you need, you can repurpose the C-wire for that one, and use one of the techniques for a new C-wire. If you do this, be sure to put a note in the thermostat reminding yourself, or the next owner, what you did.

Oh, and if you do end up replacing the wire, why not use 6-conductor? I don't know why, but I'll bet in 20 years there'll be a reason why six are needed, and the incremental price is almost nothing.
 

Sea Six

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Are you missing the C-wire? If so, you can Google "thermostat C wire" and find several alternatives for getting around this problem. And if's another wire you need, you can repurpose the C-wire for that one, and use one of the techniques for a new C-wire. If you do this, be sure to put a note in the thermostat reminding yourself, or the next owner, what you did.

Oh, and if you do end up replacing the wire, why not use 6-conductor? I don't know why, but I'll bet in 20 years there'll be a reason why six are needed, and the incremental price is almost nothing.

The air handler is almost right on top of the thermostat, not even 10 feet of wire required, so I just want to do it right.
 

wackymother

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Routers do wear out. The newer ones are better, too. We even had to get an extra router to improve the signal on the main floor.
 

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FYI, Home Depot has the Sensi wifi thermostat on sale for $99 today (only). Also a Honeywell unit for $79.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 

Sandy VDH

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I am looking at doing this too. Do you think the DIY is an ok route?
 

Talent312

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Do you think the DIY is an ok route?

Yes, if you are adept at reading and following directions... and have an HVAC guy on speed-dial.
I'd do it myself, but DW insists on controlling the settings. I prefer to change them surreptitiously.

.
 
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Passepartout

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I am looking at doing this too. Do you think the DIY is an ok route?
I think so. My problems stemmed from plunging in without reading ALL the how-to brochure. They have a toll free support number and the people there were helpful. The only tools you need are a couple of small screw drivers.
 

Passepartout

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FYI, Home Depot has the Sensi wifi thermostat on sale for $99 today (only).
That's a better buy than I paid Amazon. AND another 10% off if you're a veteran. (show DD 214)
 
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Elan

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Anyone that's inclined to tackle installing something like this should own a digital multimeter. They are dirt cheap these days (under $15) and can save one a lot of time (and money) should they get derailled in the installation process.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 

Passepartout

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Anyone that's inclined to tackle installing something like this should own a digital multimeter. They are dirt cheap these days (under $15) and can save one a lot of time (and money) should they get derailled in the installation process.
As I've said about a zillion times, any job worth doing is worth buying a new tool, but in this case, I'm not so sure this is the one. In the installation instructions, there is nothing about what values one should look for on a multimeter, so (imo) about all you'd be checking is continuity. Simply following the instructions is going to be straight forward in 99% of cases- assuming the original thermostat being replaced is working.
 

Sandy VDH

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FYI, Home Depot has the Sensi wifi thermostat on sale for $99 today (only). Also a Honeywell unit for $79.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Amazon price matched this one day sale. So for me that is better, as shipping is faster, and I get 5% back on my Chase Prime CC.

They also price match some TP Link smart bulbs that I have, so I got some of those that I have been holding off on getting.
 
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Sea Six

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Before you take this on as a DIY project, make sure you know how many wires are required between the new thermostat and the air handler and how many wires you have now. If you have to replace that cable your job just got way more complicated.
 

Sandy VDH

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I have a 7 year old house, so I am not expecting any wiring anomalies, but I do KNOW the instructions say to take a picture of the wires first.
 
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Passepartout

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I do not the instructions say to take a picture of the wires first.
This sentence is unclear, but I think you were reiterating to take a picture of how the wires are attached in the OLD thermostat. In a 7 year-old house, it should have been wired by code and inspected when the house was built. I wouldn't expect any anomalies. Where I went off the tracks was attaching the blue wire to a (B) terminal when it should have gone to the (C)ommon terminal. A photo of the old setup would have eliminated that, and a service call from the HVAC guy.
 
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