Are digital thermostats user-swappable?
October 31, 2010 7:51 PM Subscribe
Can we swap out our digital thermostat or must we call our apartment maintenance to do it?
The digital thermostat our complex installed a couple of years ago is failing and we want to replace it with one we brought with us when we moved here. Will we be able to figure out how to do this (color-coded wire-plugs?) or will it be like the time a contractor friend struggled to switch our traditional thermostat to the digital one? We thought we'd ask before taking the current one off in wintertime.
The digital thermostat our complex installed a couple of years ago is failing and we want to replace it with one we brought with us when we moved here. Will we be able to figure out how to do this (color-coded wire-plugs?) or will it be like the time a contractor friend struggled to switch our traditional thermostat to the digital one? We thought we'd ask before taking the current one off in wintertime.
Best answer: Pull it off the wall and see if the wires look the same as previous. My old apartment had a crappy thermostat and it was easily swapped out. I just replaced it with the old crappy one when I moved out so that the landlord couldn't claim anything I did was tied to the system in case something went wrong down the road.
posted by msbutah at 8:10 PM on October 31, 2010
posted by msbutah at 8:10 PM on October 31, 2010
Best answer: You should be able to fall back to your old one, anyway... this isn't a destructive change. I just swapped out two within the past few weeks... they're very simple devices and most have as few as four wires as long as you don't have anything funky like a multi-zone system, emergency heat, or other complicated features.
Most digital thermostats have a carrier that actually attaches to the wall and has the wires run to terminals on it, and then the thermostat itself clicks into the terminals and is affixed via clips or a screw. Look yours over. You should be able to detach it from the wall just enough to see how many wires you have running into it.
The new thermostat should have an installation manual with a conversion table. Look at where the wires run into your old thermostat's terminals, and disregarding the actual color of the wires, mark the wires with the letters that the wires are run to. (For example, in my GF's house, which I swapped today from an old manual one that was very broken, the 'Y' wire was actually blue and the 'W' wire was actually yellow.) Then run through the conversion table with your new thermostat and make sure you know which letters should run to which other letters... but generally they're the same unless you've got some oddball or commercial system.
tl;dr: Yes, you should be able to do it yourself. Ignore the color-codes; look at the letters on the back of the old one and mark all the wires before you disconnect them.
posted by SpecialK at 8:13 PM on October 31, 2010
Most digital thermostats have a carrier that actually attaches to the wall and has the wires run to terminals on it, and then the thermostat itself clicks into the terminals and is affixed via clips or a screw. Look yours over. You should be able to detach it from the wall just enough to see how many wires you have running into it.
The new thermostat should have an installation manual with a conversion table. Look at where the wires run into your old thermostat's terminals, and disregarding the actual color of the wires, mark the wires with the letters that the wires are run to. (For example, in my GF's house, which I swapped today from an old manual one that was very broken, the 'Y' wire was actually blue and the 'W' wire was actually yellow.) Then run through the conversion table with your new thermostat and make sure you know which letters should run to which other letters... but generally they're the same unless you've got some oddball or commercial system.
tl;dr: Yes, you should be able to do it yourself. Ignore the color-codes; look at the letters on the back of the old one and mark all the wires before you disconnect them.
posted by SpecialK at 8:13 PM on October 31, 2010
I'm going to disagree with the above folks.
Irrespective of whether you are capable of making this change on your own, you should not do so. It isn't your property. You should let the landlord take care of it.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:19 PM on October 31, 2010
Irrespective of whether you are capable of making this change on your own, you should not do so. It isn't your property. You should let the landlord take care of it.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:19 PM on October 31, 2010
Response by poster: CP when we moved-in we were invited to "go nuts" decorating and making changes. There is a skeleton maintenance crew and we dread having to explain the problem to them and then wait around for them to make it here. Meanwhile we have a runaway furnace that makes things very uncomfortable and energy inefficient.
posted by Mertonian at 9:00 PM on October 31, 2010
posted by Mertonian at 9:00 PM on October 31, 2010
Best answer: I installed my own digital thermostat without electrocuting myself or burning down the house. I did however install the wires incorrectly so that the house almost got down to freezing (0°C) overnight in the middle of winter. So there's that.
And now I tend to read manuals.
posted by beepbeepboopboop at 10:04 PM on October 31, 2010
And now I tend to read manuals.
posted by beepbeepboopboop at 10:04 PM on October 31, 2010
Best answer: ...we want to replace it with one we brought with us when we moved here.
Did you bring the installation instructions with you? (Can you find them?) Alternatively, can you Google for the brand and model thermostat and find the installation instructions online?
Because I wouldn't try this job without the instructions. I mean, this controls the temp in your apartment, and winter is coming!
posted by exphysicist345 at 11:13 PM on October 31, 2010
Did you bring the installation instructions with you? (Can you find them?) Alternatively, can you Google for the brand and model thermostat and find the installation instructions online?
Because I wouldn't try this job without the instructions. I mean, this controls the temp in your apartment, and winter is coming!
posted by exphysicist345 at 11:13 PM on October 31, 2010
Best answer: As long as you can change it out without f*cking anything up, go for it. YMMV but I am not the type to worry about the thermostat sanctity police.
posted by hapax_legomenon at 11:56 PM on October 31, 2010
posted by hapax_legomenon at 11:56 PM on October 31, 2010
Best answer: Just check your lease for what you're allowed to do and not allowed to do. If the lease says that these types of changes are ones you are not allowed to make, your renter's insurance will not cover you if your home burns down as a result of an electrical fire. Most renter's policies I've ready contain a provision that you're only covered as a renter if you adhere to the terms of the lease (and certain other provisions). At this point, you'd have no liability insurance to cover you when the landlord sues you for the repair cost and you'd have no coverage on the contents of your apartment, since both are provided by your renter's policy.
posted by Brian Puccio at 7:25 AM on November 1, 2010
posted by Brian Puccio at 7:25 AM on November 1, 2010
Best answer: I see potential lease issues, but if you go ahead with this repair, I'd offer a couple caveats:
1) Make sure that the new thermostat is capable of working with the system. For example, if the system is a two-stage heat pump, not all thermostats may be compatible. The instructions for the new thermostat will be extremely helpful, so if you don't have them, look them up online.
2) Don't trust wire color. Label the wires on the old thermostat before removing them from the lettered terminals (taking a picture can be useful, too) and use them as a guide when making new connections.
posted by itstheclamsname at 9:35 AM on November 1, 2010
1) Make sure that the new thermostat is capable of working with the system. For example, if the system is a two-stage heat pump, not all thermostats may be compatible. The instructions for the new thermostat will be extremely helpful, so if you don't have them, look them up online.
2) Don't trust wire color. Label the wires on the old thermostat before removing them from the lettered terminals (taking a picture can be useful, too) and use them as a guide when making new connections.
posted by itstheclamsname at 9:35 AM on November 1, 2010
Best answer: I used to be a Landlord. Loved it when tenants did adequate repairs of this nature, and always paid for parts. I am not very handy, but I have installed more than a few dig. thermostats successfully. Try to save the instructions for when you move.
posted by theora55 at 9:58 AM on November 1, 2010
posted by theora55 at 9:58 AM on November 1, 2010
Best answer: With the way electronics are outdated almost as soon as you take them out of the box, I'd rather buy a new digital device than use one that's been sitting in a box for a couple of years.
A new device will have instructions too.
(you did check the battery, right? It's strange that a 2 year old installed device is failing like that)
posted by jaimystery at 10:44 AM on November 1, 2010
A new device will have instructions too.
(you did check the battery, right? It's strange that a 2 year old installed device is failing like that)
posted by jaimystery at 10:44 AM on November 1, 2010
Response by poster: These are all great suggestions; thanks everyone. I'll call management tomorrow and see if they're okay with us doing it. The current one is very cheaply made. Another like it did the same thing to our neighbors. We set the temp for 70 and it doesn't shut off 'till it reads 73.
posted by Mertonian at 3:35 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by Mertonian at 3:35 PM on November 1, 2010
Many thermometers are programmed to allow for fluctuations. Rather than turn off exactly at 70 and then kick back on the second it drops to 69 and off again at 70, it allows for +/- 2 degrees of variance. (If you had a forced air heating system and the thermometer was fairly close to one of the heat grates, it would very quickly hit the 70 it was programmed for and turn the entire system back off.
Not to mention, many heating systems aren't as efficient when operated in short bursts.
posted by Brian Puccio at 4:23 AM on November 2, 2010
Not to mention, many heating systems aren't as efficient when operated in short bursts.
posted by Brian Puccio at 4:23 AM on November 2, 2010
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It may be obvious which wires go which way, If so, swap 'em out, and live long and prosper. If, upon seeing the existing wires you're really confused, (and not in the engineer, "I'll figure it out as I go" way), then get a pro. However, if it's obvious, you've just saved yourself a house call.
posted by notsnot at 8:10 PM on October 31, 2010