The most basic of systems such as an older heat only forced air gas furnace with a standing pilot light only need two wires for control.
Gas furnace with ac thermostat wiring.
For example if the red wire is connected to w on the thermostat the furnace should turn on.
Moreover the heat source for a basic ac system can include heat strips for electric heat or even a hot water coil inside the.
It often comes down to what type of system was installed and the wiring or lack of wiring between that equipment and the thermostat.
The kind of heating and cooling system you have will determine how many wires run from your furnace to your thermostat.
Turn off your existing thermostat flip the furnace ac breaker to the off position.
Heating only systems use two wires air conditioning adds two more wires and if you have a two stage furnace you ll need yet one more wire.
How to wire an air conditioner for control 5 wires the diagram below includes the typical control wiring for a conventional central air conditioning system furthermore it includes a thermostat a condenser and an air handler with a heat source.
When the red wire is disconnected from w the.
Heat pumps are different than air conditioners because a heat pump uses the process of refrigeration to heat and cool while an air conditioner uses the process of refrigeration to only cool the central air conditioner will usually be paired with a gas furnace an electric furnace or some other method of heating.
Furnace thermostat wiring diagram terminal letters on a thermostat and what they control the hot wire 24 volts usually red from the transformer is the main power wire to turn on or off a furnace components.
Label where the wires are connected on the thermostat check to see if they match the industry standard listed above.
Heating and cooling equipment comes in many forms ex.
Once your c wire is ready follow these steps to install your new thermostat.
It is actually fairly easy to install a thermostat to control a forced air furnace.
Most homeowners with moderate home improvement skills can wire a heat only thermostat.
If the unit requires only two wires the system is only able to heat the space.
The hvac equipment.
The simplest setup for a heating system is a two wire thermostat.
They connect to a two wire thermostat generally a mechanical thermostat with a mercury filled ball connected to a coiled bi metal strip.