For an HVAC system to be compatible with the Smart Thermostat, the system must be wired to an existing compatible thermostat. This guide assists with wiring and configuration when swapping an existing thermostat with the ADC-T3000 or ADC-T2000
Finding previous thermostat model and wiring
Before replacing a thermostat with a Smart Thermostat, take pictures of the existing thermostat’s wiring. Search for the previous thermostat’s manual, and look for descriptions of what their terminals are for. Usually, their descriptions will be the same as the Smart Thermostat. If a terminal that does not seem to have an equivalent on the Smart Thermostat, see Non-Standard Wiring. Note: Some thermostats have two sets of labels, one for conventional/normal systems and one for heat pumps. Verify what type of system is being worked on. While thermostat wire colors are not standardized, and cannot always be relied upon, they can provide clues to what the wire is for. While a conventional system could have an orange wire in its W terminal, it’s far more common for the O/B wire of a Heat Pump system to be orange, and W or Aux to be white. Another indication of wire purpose is verifying which terminals have jumpers. No conventional system has stage of heat and a stage of cooling to run at the same time, but auxiliary heat and emergency terminals are frequently connected with jumpers.
Standard wires (ADC-T3000)
Standard wires (ADC-T2000)
Non-standard wires
If unsure of what a wiring terminal does, checking the thermostat’s manual will likely help determine what the terminal does. Here are some common non-standard wires we have seen on old thermostats and what to do with them:
Important: Review the table below before wiring an Alarm.com Smart Thermostat to a gas or electric system
Heat pump wires
Important: Review the table and notes below before wiring an Alarm.com Smart Thermostat to a heat pump.
ADC-T3000
If there is an R wire, connect it to either RC or RH and make the appropriate selection when asked which terminal is in use. This will create a digital jumper to the other R terminal that is not selected. If there are both RC and RH wires, a jumper is not needed. Select that both RC and RH are present during configuration.
Example: Selecting RC only creates a digital jumper to RH.
ADC–T2000
If there is an R wire, connect it to RH. If there are both RH and RC wires, remove the black jumper in the lower-left corner of the backplate terminal board with needlenose pliers, and attach wires to both RH and RC terminals.
What if the W or W1 terminal and Y terminal are jumped?
Some less intelligent stats share (or jump) the W1 (or W) and Y terminal for running heat pumps. Our stat knows to use Y when configured for a heat pump, so we have an extra terminal (W1) for running another stage of aux heat. Always start your first stage of aux heat in W1 and use W2 and W3 if you’ve got a system with extra Aux stages.
What if there is a W2 but not a W1?
Move the wire to W.
What if there is both an O and a B wire?
First, check the old thermostat’s manual. If unsure which wire the old thermostat used, the configuration should be set to O. On some Trane thermostats, the B terminal is not for a reversing valve, but actually its common wire terminal. If it is not a Trane, it is not a heat pump and there are multiple zones, it could be a master/slave setup. If this is the case, see the section on O/B Zoning below in Non-standard systems.
What do I do if W2 and Y2 terminals are jumpered together on a heat pump?
Our thermostat is smart enough to not need those terminals jumpered to operate a heat pump correctly, just translate the wires as normal and don’t worry about the jumper.
The old thermostat is a Totaline with a BOW terminal.
The BOW1/2 terminals can function as O or B (reversing valve) if the system is a heat pump, or as W (heat stage) if it’s a conventional system. Confirm with the dealer or customer what type of HVAC system they have.
Can the thermostat be powered by a standalone transformer (separate from the HVAC system)?
This is an option. However, it would require the system is either heat-only or cool-only, as the transformer would wire into one of the R terminals (Rc or Rh depending on what is open) and the C terminal with the jumper removed.
Electric
Electric is used for heating systems that require the thermostat to turn on the fan.
Examples: Forced Air Heating Systems, generally any electric based heating sources, most Heat Pumps. Note that on heat pump, the fan will always run while the heat pump stage is engaged, and the heat type configuration only applies to the stages of auxiliary heat.
Fossil
Fossil (gas, oil) is used for heating systems that don’t require the thermostat to turn on the fan. This is a little misleading, since this is not strictly for fossil fuel powered systems, but the terminology is industry standard.
Examples: Hydronic heating (radiators), baseboard heating, Dual Fuel heat pumps, any furnace that turns on the fan without relying on the thermostat (common with fossil fuel furnaces that have a heating delay built in so that the system doesn’t blow around cold air at first).
Radiant floor heating
Radiant floor heating should only be used with professionally installed radiant floor heating system. If the customer has a compatible radiant floor heating system, select Fossil (gas, oil) as the heat type in the Installer Settings for the Smart Thermostat.
Caution: The thermostat should be set to off mode before configuration changes are made. Confirm that the desired changes have been made before testing. By default, the local configuration is set to a Normal, Electric system with two stages of heat and two stages of cool.
Important: If manually configured, the thermostat runs with this functionality without communication with Alarm.com.
ADC-T3000
The ADC-T3000 can automatically detect wires during the installation process. For more information, see Alarm.com Smart Thermostat (ADC-T3000) – Installation Guide.
Firmware versions 1.30+
Note: Once the configuration has been selected locally, it is recommended to run the Get Current Values command on the Partner Portal or MobileTech app. All other configurations for the Smart Thermostat must be performed using the Partner Portal or MobileTech app. For more information about these processes, see Enroll and configure the Alarm.com Smart Thermostat.
Firmware versions below 1.30
ADC-T3000
Z1 and Z2 are the “dynamic” terminals. If an auxiliary wire has been connected, please specify the function it will perform.
To configure the Z Terminals:
Firmware versions 1.30+
In addition to functioning as a W3, the Z terminal can be used for O/B Zoning. This allows for control of certain “Master/ Accessory” zoning scenarios. Only the Master needs to use this configuration, and in this case, the O/B terminal is used as an O, and is activated when the Master allows for Cooling. The Z terminal is used as a B, and is activated when the Master allows for Heating. The Accessory thermostat is wired completely normally, and does not have Z terminal wire at all. The zone control board takes care of properly controlling the duct work and system interplay.
Firmware versions below 1.30
On pre-1.30 PIC FW, the only purpose Z can serve is functioning as a W3 terminal. On a normal system, this is a third stage of heat, on a heat pump it is a third stage of auxiliary heat.
Understanding HVAC System delays
There are a number of System Delays built into the Smart Thermostats to preserve the life of HVAC systems
Compressor delay
Staging delay
The Staging delay is the amount of time that a system will run before kicking on the next stage of heat/cool/pump if necessary to reach the setpoint.
Fan Purge time
Heating/Cooling differential
Fan Circulation/Duty Cycle
Additional resources
Enroll in the following training courses today:
ALARM.COM
DOWNLOAD MANUAL
Alarm.com adc-t3000 Smart Thermostat Installational Manual
OTHER MANUALS:
Alarm.com ADC-T3000 Smart Thermostat User Manual
Alarm.com ADC-T3000 Smart Thermostat Troubleshooting Guide
Alarm.com ADC-T3000 Smart Thermostat Operational Manual
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