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How To Wire A Thermostat For A Heat Pump

How many wires do you need for a heat pump thermostat?

In heat pump system, there are at least 8 wires that need to be connected to the thermostat for proper operation.

Can you use any thermostat with a heat pump?

Most smart thermostats are compatible with heat pump systems. What is worth noting is the installation process is a little tricker as there are additional wires to manage.

What wire controls heat pump?

W Wire Terminal Designation – This color is typically white and goes to the W terminal. In a heat pump, this is for the backup heat source. Whether it is electric heat strips or a gas furnace (dual fuel), the W terminal controls this. This wire will also run to the air handler/furnace and the condenser.

How do I know if my heat pump is O or B?

Check the configuration. The heat pump is ‘O’ if it energizes in cooling and ‘B’ if it energizes on heating. Thermostats use the B terminal in systems with a reversing valve that turns on with heat mode. The system uses the O terminal if the reversing valve turns on while running cooling mode.

What happens if you wire a thermostat wrong?

Potential consequences of improper installation could include: Electric shock. Blowing a circuit breaker. Damaging the thermostat unit, the electrical system or even the AC/furnace unit itself.

What color wire goes where on a thermostat?

This is the most typical thermostat wiring style, and it applies to systems that regulate both heat and air conditioning. The wires are typically arranged as follows: red for 24-volt hot, white for heat, yellow for cooling, green for the fan, and blue for common (although the common wire may be a different color).

What thermostat works best with a heat pump?

Nest 3rd Gen & Ecobee 4 are the best smart thermostats for heat pump-based systems. They both support multi-stage heat pumps and when it comes to aux heating, they both support up to 2 stages of heating.

Does a heat pump require a special thermostat?

Why do heat pumps require a particular type of thermostat that’s different from an air conditioner’s? The reason is that heat pumps must control both heating and cooling. To switch from one to the other, the thermostat needs to signal the reversing valve to change the direction of the flow of refrigerant.

What wire controls heat on thermostat?

Thermostat Wiring Tips If your thermostat controls your heat, you will have a white wire. The Y wire is yellow and connects to your air conditioning compressor. The G wire is green and connects to the fan. Rc and Rh: The red wire(s) are the power source for your thermostat.

How many wires does a thermostat need?

The most basic thermostat has 2 wires; usually a red and a white wire. Two wire thermostat wiring is used for furnaces only and usually doesn’t need a “C” or “Common” wire.

What gauge wire is thermostat wire?

The most common thermostat cabling is 18/5 (18 gauge, 5 conductor), because 5 conductors typically offer enough functions for a modern thermostat/low voltage device.

Does heat pump use O or B wire?

The O and B terminals are for heat pumps; the B terminal is used in conjunction with Rheem, Ruud, or any other manufacturer that energizes the reversing valve in the heat pump’s heating mode. Most other manufacturers of heat pumps will utilize the reversing valve for cooling including the O thermostat.

Do I have O or B wire?

If your thermostat doesn’t have a separate connector labeled C and you’re not sure what type of system you have: A brown wire is mostly likely a heat pump wire and should be connected to the O/B connector on the Nest thermostat. If the B wire is blue, it should most likely be connected to the C connector.

What color wire is heat on heat pump?

Blue wires are for heat pumps. This wire connects to terminal B on your thermostat.

Should my thermostat be on E or F?

The thermostat fan operation switch, labeled FUEL SWITCH in the diagram below, is factory-set in the “F” position. This is the correct setting for most systems. The “E” setting will allow the fan to turn on immediately with the heating or cooling in a system where the G terminal is connected.

What are the four wires in a thermostat?

In general, the heating wire (often white), goes into the “W” port, the cooling wire (often yellow), goes into the “Y” port, the wire that sends power from the HVAC system to the thermostat (often red), goes into the “R” port, the fan wire (often green), goes into the “G” port, and the common wire (often blue), which.

What is the common wire on a thermostat?

WHAT IS A C-WIRE? A C-wire, or a common wire, runs from your low voltage heating system (24v) and carries continuous power to your thermostat. In today’s electric market, most newer heating and cooling systems have C-wires, which guarantees compatibility for the installation of all smart thermostats.

What does the RH wire do on a thermostat?

What is the Rh wire on the Nest thermostat? The Rh wire is the power input to the heating system of your air conditioning. If the connection is not established, your air conditioning will stop working.

What is o’b wire on thermostat?

O, B, O/B: These wires are responsible for switching the changeover valve in a heat pump system. The O wire reverses the valve from heating to cooling, and the B wire switches the valve from cooling to heating.

What is the W e wire on a thermostat?

W: Auxiliary heat, stage 1. E: Emergency heat (In emergency mode “Y” is not energized and E is energized to indicate the need for emergency heat. This mode is used if the heat pump fails during cold winter temperatures and the compressor must remain off.)Jun 1, 2015.

Why is there a jumper between R and RC?

Effectively there isn’t a second RH wire, although there is an RH terminal. However, the heating still needs to be controlled, so a wire known as a jumper is connected between the RC and the RH terminals so that power gets to the heating control part of the thermostat.

Do I need a jumper from R to RC?

If you have a wire in the R terminal, and no wire in the RC terminal, use the jumper selector switch, the jumper plug, or a small jumper wire to connect the R and Rc terminals. If you have a wire in the R terminal, and another wire (not a jumper) in the RC terminal, you will not need to connect the R and RC terminals.

What color wire goes where on a Honeywell thermostat?

Meaning of Wiring Terminal Letters W (white) controls the auxiliary heating elements. Y (yellow) controls the compressor on the cooling system. G (green) controls the fan. C (blue or black) provides a return path to the transformer.