Programming thermostats can be confusing … that’s why we made a video guide. We used our most popular model, the ComfortSense 7500, as the basis for this how to.
Transcript:
Hello everyone! I’m Brad with Integrated Heat and Air and this is a quick overview of the CS7500 programmable thermostat as well as a guide for how to use it.
First off, the main screen. It has a sleep function, so it doesn’t waste electricity. Just tap it to wake it up.
This is what it’ll look like once everything is set up and if you have several optional systems installed, like a humidifier, outside temperature sensor, or a dehumidifier.
The icons on the left show what your system is doing. The wind symbols mean that the system is currently running and the color used shows which way the temperature is moving. The fire icon means that the furnace will kick on and the snowflake is for when it plans to turn on the AC. The water droplets will only be there if you have a humidifier installed and the empty droplets are for a dehumidifier.
This calendar icon means that your system has something called “smooth setback recovery” turned on. It means that the logic for your schedule is set to work in reverse. With this feature turned on, your system will reach the scheduled temperature at the scheduled time, instead of starting to cool down or heat up at that time. We tend to not activate this feature but it is worth mentioning. Also depending on what year you got your thermostat, the schedule icon may appear here and, if that’s the case, then it’s just notifying you that your system is currently following a preset schedule and which schedule it’s following.
The inside temperature is here in the middle, and you can move these two circles or tap on the numbers on the right to change it, but this should become unnecessary once you’ve set up schedules for the thermostat, which we’ll go over in a little bit.
The menu icon is at the top right. Here, you can use the notifications tab to set up reminders like when to change a filter, the UV light, or to get a spring tune-up to keep your system running efficiently through the summer.
The performance tab will show you how many hours that your AC and furnace have run for the last 12 months. As you can see, this screen was not recorded in Oklahoma. We definitely use the air conditioner for more than 3 months.
Next is the edit schedules tab. This function is the most important because it can save you money. First, pick one of three schedules. If there aren’t three to choose from then there will be an “add schedule” option down at the bottom. It’s normally best to set one for winter, one for summer, and one for spring and fall.
Now I’ll show you how to program your thermostat, using the summer schedule as an example.
You can change the name for any of the 3 schedules by tapping at the top right and using the touchscreen keyboard. Tap here to go back and this is where you’ll decide how you want your system to behave. There’s obviously no need for the furnace during summer so it’ll be set to “cool only.” Then it’s all about selecting what kind of schedule you need to program it for. “All 7 days” means one schedule is set for the whole week, week/weekend is for if you work a “Monday through Friday” workweek, and “Individual days” means setting a schedule for each day of the week.
Now we’ll tap here to access the four main timeframes for the workweek. There’s a “rename” option for these as well, up at the top right. Tap here to set the time. This one’s for the desired temperature after that time, and this menu is for how you want the fan to behave. It’s best to keep it on auto but you do have options.
I mentioned “saving money” earlier. The main way to do that is to reduce the strain on the HVAC system when you’re not home. Here’s how to do it.
Since we’re programming the summer schedule, I’ll set it to 85 degrees when I leave for work at 8 o’clock. Now, it’s very normal for a summer day to reach 100+ degrees in Oklahoma. If I had left it on 72, it would put more strain on my AC throughout the day. But now, instead of my HVAC system struggling to maintain a 30-degree difference, it just has to balance for 15. Less stress on my AC means a cheaper electricity bill and fewer calls to the repairman.
Of course this is all very efficient, but I still want to feel comfortable when I get home from work. To solve that problem, I’ll just set the system to cool back down to 72 after 5pm, an hour before I get home. The “wake” and “sleep” settings, of course, are personal preference.
That about covers the scheduling process so now we’ll go back to the home screen. Tap right here to see the thermostat’s manual operation options at the top of the list and your named schedules are here at the bottom.
You may think that you can save money if you turn off your HVAC system when leaving the house for a week or so. Actually, this can end up costing more because then your system has to start from zero to get back to your desired temperature. In addition, one of your system’s main functions is to control humidity in the home.
The away mode is perfect for these vacations or business trips because you can just tap here to override whatever schedule your system was on. Just set the temperatures lower and higher than normal to get a lower utility bill. Tap the icon once more to turn it back to normal.
Okay, that covers the main functions of your thermostat. There are a few more menus that you can explore but we’ve covered the basic setup.
I hope this has been helpful. See ya next time!