Okay, so I finally got around to messing with this Honeywell Prestige thermostat. I’d been putting it off, honestly, because dealing with anything related to the HVAC system in my house always feels like a huge pain. But this thing had been sitting in its box for weeks, and my old thermostat was just so outdated and ugly.
First thing I did was turn off the power to the furnace and the AC unit at the circuit breaker. Safety first, right? I don’t need to be zapped while I’m trying to be all handy.
Then I took off the old thermostat, which was a piece of cake. Just popped right off the wall. Underneath, it was just a bunch of wires connected to terminals with little screws. I took a picture of that mess with my phone, just to make sure I remembered which wire went where.
Next, I followed the instructions that came with the Honeywell to label each wire with these little stickers they provided. That was actually kind of helpful. Red to R, white to W, that sort of thing.
Mounting the new wall plate was pretty straightforward. I used a level to make sure it was straight, drilled a couple of holes, and screwed it into the wall.
Connecting the wires to the new thermostat was where I got a little nervous. But I just followed the labels I’d put on, and double-checked against the picture I took. Matched everything up, tightened the little screws, and hoped for the best.
The Prestige thermostat comes in two parts – the thermostat itself, and this other little box called the Equipment Interface Module. I had to mount that near the furnace, and that involved a whole other set of wires. Again, I just followed the labels and the diagrams in the instructions. It wasn’t rocket science, but it was definitely a bit tedious.
- First, connect thermostat to the wall plate.
- Second, mount and wire up the Equipment Interface Module.
- Third, enjoy your new thermostat!
Once everything was wired up, I snapped the thermostat onto the wall plate, and flipped the power back on at the breaker.
And guess what? It worked! The thermostat powered up, I went through the setup screens, connected it to my Wi-Fi, and boom, I had a smart thermostat. I can now control the temperature from my phone, which is pretty cool.
Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The instructions were decent, and as long as you pay attention to the wiring, it’s totally doable.
The whole process took me maybe two hours, taking my time.
I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. My house feels a little more high-tech now, and I’m not stuck with that ugly old thermostat anymore. Win-win!