We moved in and had an analog dial thermostat upstairs that instantly took me back to my Grandparents houses.  Besides it being a very dated I couldn’t even read the tiny temperature gauge.  We’ve always had digital so the kids were fuzzy on how to work this analog job as well.

Downstairs we had digital so logically it seems we could modernize things upstairs fairly easily.  I googled and found you can swap it out for digital fairly inexpensively and without much difficulty.  A non-programmable digital thermostat is on the lower end of pricing but you can purchase fancier models with more features for a bit more money.  I decided I didn’t need it to be programmable for us.  I bought a Honeywell Digital Thermostat for under $50 at Lowes.

Every morning I go up to wake kids, make sure lights are off and adjust the temperature. At night I go up to settle everyone in and check the thermostat.  Most important to me is that I can SEE what it’s set on!

If you are uncomfortable with electrical go ahead and call an electrician on this one.  We watched some You Tube and decided to go for it.

SUPPLIES

1. Digital thermostat

2. Screwdrivers- Phillips and flat

3. Drill

4. Anchors and screws (should come in the package)

5. Pencil

6. Level

HOW TO REMOVE AND INSTALL

Step 1- choose your new thermostat

Step 2- cut the power at the circuit breaker

Step 3- remove the face plate. In this case it was a circular ring.

Step 4- remove the 2 long screws holding the old thermostat on the wall and remove

Step 5- release the wires and second plate from this crazy maze. It’s not so bad. We had 2 flat screws holding this plate to the wall and 4 wires wound around the philips screws. Removed all screws and the plate.

Step 6- make sure all of your wires are labeled. Ours were still coated in colored plastic making it easy to match up. Our kit came with stickers to label wires if needed

Step 7- use your level to place the new mount on the wall and mark the holes. Drill for the anchors and screw on the new plate.

Step 8- feed the wires into the new terminals. red to R, yellow to Y, green to G and white to W. Not too bad. Close the door

Step 9- add your batteries and attach the digital face plate.

Step 10- Follow directions on the package to set it up

Final step is touch up the wall color and all done. We’ve stepped into 2018 upstairs AND I can read the thermostat!

Hope sharing this helped you know it’s not horribly expensive or difficult to swap out for digital!