How to Install a Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat & Wiser Air Review

Install a wi-fi smart thermostat with this tutorial and enjoy the savings, comfort, and control that comes with wi-fi smart technology.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Schneider Electric . All opinions are 100% mine.

So have you heard about the new wi-fi smart thermostats that come with DIY installation instructions? I didn’t know of their existence until a few months ago when my Dad bought one and installed it – up until then I thought thermostats needed to be installed by heating professionals.

In fact we needed a new thermostat in our old house about a year and a half ago and were quoted over $400 for the product and installation. Yikes. So we put it off (controlling our heat pump manually) and I’m glad we did, because now we can have the latest technology at half the price! This is the kind of stuff I’m always wanting to share with you – how to tackle simple DIYs that can add value to your life.

Which is why I’m so happy to be partnering with Schnieder Electric to install and review their Wiser Air Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat so you can see how easy it is to install yourself AND benefit from this amazing new technology.

Wi-Fi Smart thermostats help you save money on your electric bill by monitoring your home’s climate, adjusting temperatures when you’re away, and allowing you the ability to control it with a smartphone, among other things. With the smartphone app you can also see what you’re spending and then tweak the program to save more.

Wiser Air is a highly intelligent Wi-Fi Smart thermostat, helping you save money without sacrificing comfort through key features like:

• Eco IQ™ self-learning finds the right temperature for you! You don’t need to pick a number – just let the thermostat know if you are too hot or too cold. It optimizes comfort (and savings) based on these “learned” preferences along with other factors such as home thermal profile, humidity, outdoor weather, and system run times.
• Comfort Boost: a unique feature allowing users to get instant heating or cooling for 15 minutes without changing your carefully optimized schedule or affecting the learning algorithms.
• Wiser Pulse: an ambient glow feature on the thermostat that lights up BLUE for cooling, YELLOW for heating and GREEN when Eco IQ™ is saving energy. (This is optional if you want to use this in a dark area, though.)

You can purchase the Wiser Air Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat on Amazon.com, HomeDepot.com, the Microsoft Store, New Egg or BestBuy.com. It comes in two colors, black and white (some only come in black, which doesn’t look as good on white walls, in my opinion), and works with both iOS devices and Windows (in fact, it’s the only smart thermostat with a Windows app for use with a Surface Pro or any other Windows device).

The packaging for the Wiser Air thermostat is sleek and straightforward and includes an easy-to-understand installation guide and labels for marking the wires for a simple installation and setup, as well as an optional backplate and power adapter kit (if your current thermostat doesn’t have a C-wire). And those sticker labels? They are the key for the do-able DIY installation for anyone!

Tools needed to install a wi-fi smart thermostat:

• Wiser Air Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat
• small standard and phillips screwdrivers
• drill
• level
• touch-up paint if needed

How to Install a Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat

Preparation:

• Read installation guide thoroughly.
• Turn off your heating system at the breaker box. If you use a heat pump like we do, there will be two breakers, one for the pump and one for the furnace.
• Remove the old thermostat cover.

Step 1: Take a picture of the old thermostat’s wiring. This is a lifesaver to be able to refer to if needed.

Step 2: Label the wires with the provided stickers (matching the letters on the existing plate with the stickers). Disconnect the wiring and remove the existing thermostat’s backplate (ours required a small standard-head screwdriver). Pull the wires out from the wall 4 to 6-inches.

Step 3: Mark where screws are for the new plate with a pencil and drill holes. Then pull the wiring through center hole in the back plate and attach it to the wall with the mollies and screws provided (if using optional trim plate – we didn’t – set it in place first before attaching back plate).

Note: if you need to touch-up paint where the old thermostat was, now would be the time. We couldn’t find the paint we needed, so we just went ahead with the install. It was easy enough to paint afterwards by removing the cover, but would’ve been even easier if we had done it at this point.

Tip: Before tightening the screws, use a small level to make sure back plate is level and then tighten the screws.

Step 4: Push wires a bit back into hole and connect the wires to the backplate. Match the terminal connections according to the labels, referring to the photograph you took of existing thermostat’s wiring if needed.

Big Tip: Take another picture of the wiring for the new thermostat BEFORE attaching the cover since you will be prompted to enter in the wiring connections that you used – and if you are like us, you may not remember exactly.

Step 5: Attach the front of the thermostat to the backplate, matching the terminal pins on the front and back plates. This was easy and just snapped into place with gentle pressure. Remove the protective plastic cover and turn the power back on at the electrical panel.

Follow the steps to set up your thermostat. You will be prompted to select the wires you used, as shown above, which is why it’s a good idea to snap a picture to help you remember.

And that’s how to install a wi-fi smart thermostat! In about 45 minutes, we saved a couple hundred dollars of installation fees and have the ability to save even more by monitoring and adjusting our energy usage with this Wiser Air Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat technology.

We love how the house is comfortable and we don’t really have to think about it. And we don’t have to do anything special when we’re gone for a few days – the thermostat has a motion sensor that can tell if we’re home or not and then run the “away” settings if we’re not here. The sensor also automatically turns on the light and control screen when you walk near it, so it’s only on when you need it.

It’s amazing that climate control this sophisticated can be installed yourself – and easily at that. We’re really enjoying the results and looking forward to the potential energy savings in the future!

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Disclosure: I received product and/or compensation for this post. As always, the opinions, thoughts, and projects are all mine and I will NEVER promote something I don’t love and think you will find helpful – promise! For more info, you can read our entire disclosure page here.

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