Installing the Nest Learning Thermostat - Bounce Energy

By Vernon, March 13, 2013, Energy Efficiency, Green, News, Save Money

The most compelling reason to buy and install a programmable thermostat is that they can save you money. EnergyStar.gov estimates that a properly used programmable thermostat can save $180 off energy costs annually.

Of course, some folks are put off by the ?programmable? part. We?re not talking about NASA-level programming, but depending on your home, your schedule, and your comfort requirements, programming your thermostat can be tricky. Wouldn?t just be nice if there was one that could learn and adapt to your lifestyle?

What a coincidence! Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, both formerly of Apple, have designed a learning programmable thermostat called the ?Nest?. The best part about this bit of technology is that you personally don?t need to program anything, because the device will learn your usage habits and program itself.

What?s more:

• It is compatible with 95% of 24 volt-powered home heating and air conditioning systems, including systems that use gas, electric, oil, solar, hot water, geothermal, forced air, heat pump, and radiant energy.
• There?s no need for expensive energy provider plans to setup, use, or remotely access your Nest.
• You don?t need a Ph.D from MIT to install when you do it yourself. Just a screw driver.

To install the device yourself, first make absolutely certain that your thermostat wiring is compatible. Go to your current thermostat and turn the system off. Next, go to your circuit breaker box and turn off your heat, ventilation, and air conditioning system (HVAC). Return to your current thermostat. If you have an older programmable thermostat, all you need to do is lift-off the faceplate and this will expose the terminals that connect the thermostat wiring.

If you have one of the old dome-shaped thermostats then you?ll need to disassemble it a little:

1: Remove the plastic cover.

2: Inside, there?s a bi-metal spring with a mercury bulb switch attached to the end. As the temperature drops, the spring tightens. This causes the mercury to roll from one end of the bulb switch to the other end where it touches the contacts and turns on the system. **Remember that mercury is toxic so you want to avoid breaking the switch bulb.**

3: On either side of the dial, there is a single slotted screw that holds the dial mechanism onto the circuit plate. Unscrew these and set the dial aside.

4: Identify the thermostat wiring connections. When your install it yourself, it?s important to note that the wire color usually has nothing to do with the letter on the terminal it?s connected. In the photo, I have a red wire connected to the R terminal, black wire to W terminal, green wire to G terminal, and orange to the Y terminal.

Generally, home HVAC systems have a furnace, an air conditioner, and a fan which all are powered by a 24 volt AC transformer. On instances where there are five wires, one is a ground wire. Even though Nest learning thermostat provides an on-line compatibility wiring helper, when you do it yourself, it?s still a good back-up plan to write down thermostat wiring setup. Draw a diagram of each wire?s color and the letter of the screw terminal it connects to on a piece of paper. You can also just take a photo.

Installation: here?s how you can acutally do it yourself.

1: Same as before, turn off your HVAC system at the circuit breaker box.

2: Next, dismantle and disconnect your current thermostat. As before, for the newer ones, remove the faceplate and for the older dome-shaped ones, remove spring and mercury bulb mechanism (remember to dispose of it properly because of the mercury).

3: Remove any jumper wires. On some thermostats, these are short connecting wires from the RH to RC terminals. The Nest just requires the R wire connected to either of its RH or RC terminals.

4: The Nest comes with some easy-peel self-adhesive blue and white wire labels. One by one, disconnect and label each wire so you know what they are.

5: Remove the old thermostat?s mounting frame. to avoid losing the thermostat wiring into the hole in the wall wrap all of it around a pencil. If the wires are too short, twist-tie them to a pencil.

6: Get out the new Nest base and place it on the wall. Use a bubble level to align this plate and also mark where the mounting screws will go. An optional trim plate is included if you should need to cover up large holes.

7: After the baseplate is secured to the wall you can connect the wires. There are snap connectors on the base plate. Just push on one and insert the corresponding wire into the little hole.

8: Attach the Nest display by pressing it gently until it clicks into place.

9: Turn on the circuit breakers.

10: You?re done! The Nest will turn on and then guide you through the set-up process, including how to connect to Wi-Fi so you can control it with your phone or tablet from anywhere.

Because the Nest records your daily rhythm of how you set your home?s temperature, it delivers better customized and efficient climate control options than a plain-old programmable thermostat.

Now, you may have noticed that one our competitors,?Reliant Energy, has created the ?Learn and Conserve? plan where customers can sign up for a 24-month fixed-rate plan and receive a Nest Learning Thermostat for free. However, it seems that they?ve marked up the rate per kWh for this plan significantly in order to pay for mailing you that Nest for ?free.? Why not buy the Nest yourself, and then?pay less for electricity and earn rewards for making on-time bill payments with Bounce Energy? Specifically, if you bought and installed that Nest?yourself, and then selected the Tremendous 24 plan from Bounce Energy, you?d be saving serious money. Here?s the math**:

Reliant Energy ?Learn and Conserve? Plan:

• 2,000 kWh of usage * 7.9 cents per kWh to Reliant = $158.00.
• $9.45 flat monthly delivery charge to CenterPoint.
• 2,000 kWh of usage * 3.4869 cents per kWh to CenterPoint = $69.74.
• $158.00 + $9.45 + $69.74 = $237.19 per month.
• $237.19 per month x 24 months = $5,692.56 (estimate does not include state / local taxes).

Bounce Energy Tremendous 24 Plan:

• 2,000 kWh of usage * 6.8037 cents per kWh to Bounce = $136.07.
• $9.54 flat monthly delivery charge to CenterPoint.
• 2,000 kWh of usage * 3.4862 cents per kWh to CenterPoint = $69.72.
• $136.07 + $9.54 + $69.72 = $212.33 per month.
• $212.33 per month * $24 months = $5,095.92.

So, when I subtract Reliant?s 24-month estimate of $5,692.56 from Bounce?s 24-month estimate of $5,095.92, we arrive at $596.64 in savings. And when you subtract the $250.00 that it would cost to buy the Nest Learning Thermostat yourself, you arrive at $346.64 in savings: $596.64 ? $250.00 = $346.64! That?s a rather substantial bit of savings, money that you could then use to other home improvement projects!

Bounce Energy firmly believes in the technology represented by the Nest, especially in regards to how much money it can help you save and how it helps improve the energy efficiency of your home. We just believe that you don?t have to get locked into a 24-month plan with Reliant to take advantage of all the Nest has to offer you. We simply provided our 24-month plan as a basis of comparison ? we have plans that range from 3 to 36 months in length. However, since you?re already the DIY type that is comfortable installing your own programmable thermostat, you?ll probably be interested in our brand-new, first-of-its-kind ?Build Your Own Energy Plan? feature.

Learn more about the Nest Learning Thermostat at the company?s homepage, and learn more about Bounce?s energy plans in Texas here. You can also call our helpful Customer Service Department at 1-888-452-6862.

**Rates and prices in example based upon rates in CenterPoint TDSP area as on 03/07/2013. Rates are subject to change, based upon energy market demand.

About Vernon

Vernon Trollinger is a writer for Bounce Energy

A native of Wyomissing Hills, PA, Vernon Trollinger studied Theatre Arts/Communications and English at the University of Iowa, later earning his Master of Arts in English at Iowa as well. After a brief career in archeology, he now writes about green energy technology, home energy efficiency, the natural gas industry, and the electrical grid.

Tags: Energy Efficiency, HVAC

Source: http://www.bounceenergy.com/blog/2013/03/instal-nest-learning-thermostat/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=instal-nest-learning-thermostat

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