Smart Thermostat Installation in Elgin & the Fox Valley

Signs It’s Time for a Smart Thermostat

Some of these are comfort problems. Some are money problems. A properly set up smart thermostat fixes most of them.

• You still have a dial or a slide thermostat. Older mechanical thermostats drift a few degrees and have no schedule at all. The furnace and AC run on guesswork.
• The program is set to one temperature all day because nobody could figure out the buttons. A smart thermostat learns or takes a schedule from your phone in a minute.
• You just had a heat pump, furnace or AC installed and the old thermostat stayed. A new two-stage or variable-speed system running on a single-stage thermostat never uses the equipment you paid for.
• Your heat pump’s auxiliary heat runs far more than it should. Without a balance point and aux lockout, electric backup heat comes on at 40°F and the bill shows it.
• One room is always hot or cold. Remote sensors let the thermostat average or prioritize the rooms you actually use.
• You travel and have no way to adjust the house. Wi-Fi control, vacation modes and alerts for a furnace that has stopped heating in January.
• A DIY install ended with a blank screen or a “no power” message. Usually a missing C-wire. We fix it.
• The batteries die every few months. A thermostat that runs on batteries alone is not getting the common wire it needs.
• You are replacing a furnace or heat pump this year. A qualifying ENERGY STAR thermostat on the same invoice adds to the utility discount.

What We Install and Configure

We carry and install the major brands, and we match the thermostat to the equipment, not the other way around.

Replacing an Old Thermostat?

Most of our thermostat installs are replacements. Here is what changes.

The old thermostat comes off the wall and we label every wire before it does. Old labels are often wrong, especially after a previous DIY swap, and a wire on the wrong terminal can run the AC when you call for heat. We confirm each wire at the furnace or air handler board, not just at the wall.

Then we look at what the thermostat is controlling. A single-stage thermostat on a two-stage furnace, or a conventional thermostat on a heat pump with a furnace backup, has been leaving performance on the table. The replacement gets configured for the actual equipment: number of heat and cool stages, heat pump reversing valve logic, auxiliary or backup heat, and the outdoor balance point if you have a dual-fuel system.

We also fix the wall. The new thermostat usually has a different footprint, so we use a trim plate or patch and clean up the mounting, and we take the old thermostat with us. Then the setup is the same as a new install: schedules, Wi-Fi, the app, and a walk-through. Thermostat not working at all? See smart thermostat repair first.

How the Installation Visit Goes

Plan on one to two hours. Longer if we are pulling a new wire.

1. We look at the equipment first. The technician checks the equipment and its control board before touching the thermostat: how many stages, whether there is a heat pump, whether a C terminal is available, and whether a previous install already blew the low-voltage fuse.

2. Power is sorted out. If the existing cable has a spare conductor we land it on C. If not, we run a new thermostat cable where the walls allow, or install a power adapter kit at the furnace. Batteries alone are not a plan for a Wi-Fi thermostat.

3. Mount and wire. Level, anchored, wired terminal by terminal against the labels we made. On heat pumps we confirm the O/B reversing valve setting matches the brand, which is the mistake that makes a heat pump blow cold air in winter.

4. Configure for your equipment. Stages, cycle rates, compressor minimum off time, heat pump balance point, aux heat lockout temperature, fan settings and any accessories such as a humidifier or dehumidifier the thermostat should control.

5. Test every mode. We run heat, cool, fan, and auxiliary or emergency heat and confirm each one does what it says at the equipment, not just on the screen.

6. Wi-Fi, app and walk-through. Connected to your network, the app on your phone, a schedule built with you, and a plain explanation of the settings you should and should not change.

What a Smart Thermostat Installation Costs

Flat-rate, quoted before we start, and the price covers the thermostat, the wiring work and the setup.

We quote thermostat installs as a flat price for the thermostat model you choose plus installation and configuration. A new thermostat cable or a power adapter is priced up front when it is needed, never as a surprise at the end. If you already bought a thermostat, we will install it and tell you honestly if it is a poor match for your equipment.

There is no standalone rebate for a thermostat on its own, and we do not claim one. Where the thermostat does earn money is on the invoice for new equipment: a qualifying ENERGY STAR smart thermostat installed with a ComEd-qualifying heat pump adds $75 to the ComEd instant discount, and on the same invoice as a Nicor Gas-qualifying furnace it raises the Nicor Gas discount by $50. If you are planning a furnace or heat pump installation, tell us and the thermostat goes on the same quote.

DIY or Call a Pro?

Some thermostats are a 20-minute job for a handy homeowner. Some are not. Here is the honest split.

A single-stage gas furnace with a single-stage air conditioner, a C-wire already in the wall, and a thermostat with clear labels is a reasonable DIY project. Take a photo before you pull wires and follow the app.

Call us when any of the following is true: you have a heat pump, a dual-fuel system, a two-stage or variable-speed furnace, an Amana or Daikin communicating system, a zoned house, an accessory like a humidifier wired to the thermostat, or no C-wire. These are the systems where a wrong setting costs money every month and a wrong wire can blow the low-voltage fuse and leave you with no heat. Most of our thermostat repair calls are DIY installs on exactly these systems.

• Thermostat already installed and misbehaving? See smart thermostat repair.
• Heat pump with a furnace backup? The balance point matters. See dual-fuel heat pump and furnace systems and our heat pump hub.
• Want to control humidity too? Many thermostats can run a whole-home humidifier or dehumidifier. See indoor air quality.
• Already on the maintenance plan? Plan members get 5% off services, including thermostat installs. See the $240 semi-annual maintenance plan.

Smart Thermostat Installation Across the Fox Valley

Based in Elgin, we serve homes throughout Kane, McHenry, DuPage and DeKalb counties.

• Elgin
• South Elgin
• St. Charles
• Aurora
• Bartlett
• Streamwood
• Huntley
• Plato Center
• Sycamore
• Carpentersville
• West Dundee
• East Dundee
• Algonquin
• Gilberts
• Hampshire
• Pingree Grove
• Campton Hills
• Geneva
• Batavia
• Barrington
• Hoffman Estates
• Schaumburg
• Burlington
• Marengo
• Wayne
• Sleepy Hollow

Don’t see your town? Call (847) 224-2420. View all service areas.