My house here in Asheville came with a programmable heating and cooling system that I couldn’t seem to figure out. Basically, the house was either 70+ degrees or the heat was off (rendering the house a cool 59 degrees). Friends encouraged me to get a Nest Learning Thermostat. I was intrigued by the remote control aspect of setting heat/cooling. And the box was so small. How hard could it be to install?
I panicked momentarily when one of the first instructions was “Switch off power – this protects you and avoids blowing a fuse in your equipment.” Did I really want to do something that could potentially electrocute me? And then I wondered how long it would take to find my body. I have plans for Thanksgiving, but that’s nearly two weeks away. And there probably wouldn’t be a smell, because the heating would be disabled, and so I’d be preserved in my chilly 59 degree house.
I searched for professional installers and then thought, “This is ridiculous.” Let me at least watch the installation video before calling someone to come out to install a thermostat.
After watching the video, I thought, “I think I can do this.”
And, so step by step I switched off the power, removed the current system (marveled at layers and layers of paint and wallpaper), labeled the wires, disconnected wires, drilled new holes for the Nest unit, mounted the Nest base, unmounted the Nest base because I should have mounted the optional trim plate first, mounted the optional trim plate, realized I’ll need to repaint because said layers and layers of paint are still visible, remounted the Nest base, connected the wires, attached the display, switched the power back on, and prayed.
And it worked! Homeowner, am I!
LoriLoo 
For certain, this was the first thing I changed when we bought our house! Next you’ll be tearing out walls and ripping flooring!
Don’t worry about the voltage from thermostat wiring either, it’s normally only a low 24 volts. The Nest wouldn’t work if there were a different wiring setup anyway. I learned this as I also wanted to make sure I didn’t end up electrocuted in our new house. 😛
I don’t know about tearing out walls, but I may be up for changing a wall color or two! 🙂 I’m glad that neither of us were electrocuted. Small wins, right?!?!
Congratulations on being a homeowner AND on installing a new thermostat! That’s no easy feat! You could have started with something easier like swapping out your cupboard pulls, or changing the globes in your ceiling fan…but no, you went for the advanced electronics installation. That’s just like you! Glad you’re toasty now (and that I’ll be too when I come to visit!)
Yes! The house is ready for visitors! Just say the word, Jackie! 🙂
You need to replicate that wallpaper somewhere in the house! Fantastic history with a story to tell!!
Isn’t it fantastic! Pity there was only a tiny square of it.