Setting up a Smart Thermostat in Your MainVue Home
Looking to set up a smart thermostat like an Ecobee or Nest in your new MainVue home?
Well it won't be enough to just wire up the thermostat. There are some extra steps you will need to take to get the job done. The HVAC contractors don't usually connect all of the wires when installing a dumb thermostat. This will have to be done before you can start enjoying your new smart thermostat. I called and found out that this is not a service provided by Bob's Heating and Air Conditioning (the contractor that set up the Willowcrest MainVue heating systems). You would need to hire an electrician to do it for you. Looking around, this will probably cost a minimum of $100.
Tools required
- A small flat head screw driver
- A small Phillips head screw drive (this may be optional)
- A fashlight
- An 8 foot ladder
You may also nee
- A wire cutter
- A wire stripper
WARNING: The following steps are not difficult, BUT if you do not feel comfortable performing all of them, you should probably seek professional assistance. You do not want to injure yourself or damage your nice new home. Follow the directions for your thermostat and Furnace. I am including this post as a guide to help, and make no warranty or guarantee either explicit or implicit and take no responsibility for any negative outcomes from following this guide. Follow the manuals of your furnace and thermostat. If at any point you run into any issues, make sure the cicuit breaker to the furnace is turned off and call a professional for assistance.
WARNING: Before you begin, make sure that power is turned off to the furnace through the circuit breaker. Failure to do this may result in serious injury.
Note that my wiring is based on no air conditioning unit connection. If you have an air conditioner, your wiring may differ. My house is also a MainVue G3 in the Washington state Willowcrest neighborhood. If you have a different generation home or in a different community, things may be different.
Now that the obligatory word of caution is out of the way, now to the fun!
It is important that you do not have too much bare wire showing. Notice on my wiring that there is very little bare wire showing. The bare wire must not be able to touch. It is not simply enough to adjust the wires as they can move over time. If they do touch, this can cause a short circuit or electrical arcing, which could damage equipment and event cause a fire. If you have any more than just a few millimeters of bare wire showing, take the wire out of the terminal, cut it down so that there is no more than about 1/2 inch of bare wire and reinsert.
Well it won't be enough to just wire up the thermostat. There are some extra steps you will need to take to get the job done. The HVAC contractors don't usually connect all of the wires when installing a dumb thermostat. This will have to be done before you can start enjoying your new smart thermostat. I called and found out that this is not a service provided by Bob's Heating and Air Conditioning (the contractor that set up the Willowcrest MainVue heating systems). You would need to hire an electrician to do it for you. Looking around, this will probably cost a minimum of $100.
Tools required
- A small flat head screw driver
- A small Phillips head screw drive (this may be optional)
- A fashlight
- An 8 foot ladder
You may also nee
- A wire cutter
- A wire stripper
WARNING: The following steps are not difficult, BUT if you do not feel comfortable performing all of them, you should probably seek professional assistance. You do not want to injure yourself or damage your nice new home. Follow the directions for your thermostat and Furnace. I am including this post as a guide to help, and make no warranty or guarantee either explicit or implicit and take no responsibility for any negative outcomes from following this guide. Follow the manuals of your furnace and thermostat. If at any point you run into any issues, make sure the cicuit breaker to the furnace is turned off and call a professional for assistance.
WARNING: Before you begin, make sure that power is turned off to the furnace through the circuit breaker. Failure to do this may result in serious injury.
Note that my wiring is based on no air conditioning unit connection. If you have an air conditioner, your wiring may differ. My house is also a MainVue G3 in the Washington state Willowcrest neighborhood. If you have a different generation home or in a different community, things may be different.
Now that the obligatory word of caution is out of the way, now to the fun!
1. Turn Off the Power to Your Furnace
This is an absolutely critical step. The circuit breaker is in the garage. The furnace should be the only thing on that circuit, so you won't be turning anything else off.
(Note that in this picture the circuit has not been turned off)
2. The Original Wiring
Once you take the original thermostat off the wall, you will see the bracket and original wiring.
Note that there are only 4 wires connected. For your smart thermostat, you will need to ad the blue C-wire.
3. Wiring Up the New Thermostat
This step should not be too difficult. The most complex thing here is regarding the R, Rc, and Rh wire. The original wiring had the red wire connected to Rc, with a jumper to Rh.
For my Ecobee 4, the instructions were to connect that single red wire to the Rc. However, if you have a different thermostat or an air conditioner, your instructions may be different.
4. Accessing Furnace
You are going to have to go up into the attic space. The access panel to my attic space is in the laundry room. When you go up there, be sure to only put weight on the wooden platform. DO NOT STEP OFF INTO THE INSULATION! You may damage the ceiling or even fall through it. There is enough room on the platform to do what you need to. Be sure to bring a flashlight up with you.
(External view of my furnace access panel)
To open you just turn the black nobs and open. the panel starts to swing out from the right side. It is not hinged, so it will come off. The door on the left is the one to my furnace control panel.
(Water detection cutoff switch)
You will notice that there is a device below the furnace with a wire connected. That is the water detection cutoff switch. This will cut power to your furnace in the event that it detects water, such as might be coming from a leaking roof. This device is important, so do not disconnect it (more on that to come)
5. Connecting the C-Wire
This is where the magic happens. It is the critical step in providing power to your smart thermostat and enable it to work.
(Furnace Control Panel)
When you open the furnace access panel you will see a number of wires and terminals. You will only need to work with one little wire and one terminal.
What are we looking at:
The gray wire group entering the furnace is the wire to the water detection cutoff switch.
The brown coiled wire group is the set of wires that connect to your thermostat.
The C-Wire from your thermostat is the blue single wire from the coiled brown wire group. That is the one you will be connecting. If it is not stripped, you will need to strip of a little less than a half inch of the wire sheathing.
You will see a black singular wire coming from the cutoff switch group (the gray group), connecting to a terminal labeled "COM".
Making the connection:
The only thing you need to do here is add the blue C-wire to the COM terminal. Don't mess around with any other wires. You will need to back out the screw in the COM terminal just enough to place the C-Wire in there. Note that the wire should be behind the bracket that the screw is holding in place in order to secure it properly. As you can see, I put the blue C-Wire on the opposite side of the bracket as the black wire to the cutoff switch. Make sure no bare wires are touch or that they could even be moved to touch.
Now tighten down the screw snugly.
Remember to close the panel, or your furnace won't turn on.
6. Turn Power Back on to Your Furnace
Before continuing, make sure that everything is complete. All wiring done, all access panels closed, etc. Return power back to your furnace and verify everything is working.
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