Many conventional, non-connected thermostats don’t need a “c-wire” to function. But today, most Wi-Fi thermostats have new features such as Wi-Fi radios and LED color screens that require the unit be powered at all times. Thermostats can get this constant power through a common wire or “c-wire.”
It is easy to see if you already have a c-wire connected to your system. Simply remove your current thermostat face from its baseplate and look for the terminal labeled with the letter “c.” If this terminal has a wire attached to it, you have an active “c-wire.”
No, you will only need to use the wires that connected to the old thermostat.
Sometimes there will be extra, unused wires in the wall. If they are not used in wiring your Vine, simply tape them off and push them into the wall and out of the way. If you need to install a c-wire, learn more about how you can use your extra wire as a c-wire.
If you need a c-wire, there are a few main options:
Using an extra, unused wire as a c-wire
Using your thermostat’s g-wire (fan wire) as a c-wire
Installing an Add-a-Wire Kit (These kits can be purchased from another manufacturer and used with Vine.)
If you have a 2-wire, heat-only system, you could also install a 24VAC power transformer to supply constant power to your Vine thermostat.
The Vine Touch Smart Thermostat always requires a c-wire.
Thick wires indicate high voltage systems that are not compatibile with Vine thermostats.
A thermostat jumper wire is a short piece of wire connecting two terminals on the thermostat base. A jumper wire does not originate from behind the wall, but is unique to each thermostat. Vine thermostat does not use jumper wires. If you have a jumper wire on your old thermostat, discard it and input only the wires from the wall into the Vine app when prompted during installation.
The jumper wire connecting terminals RC and RH are most common, and this jumper wire is not necessary on Vine thermostat. Vine thermostat has a built-in RC/RH jumper wire on the back of the thermostat face plate.
Clip the RC/RH jumper wire on the Vine thermostat if you have two separate wires (one running to RH and the other to RC) on your old thermostat that are coming from the wall. This indicates you have a two-transformer system.
If you accidentally clipped the RC/RH jumper on the back of the Vine thermostat and did not mean to, you will need to re-jumper those two terminals.
To create a new jumper for RC/RH, use a short piece of thermostat wire, strip the insulation off both ends of the wire and bend it in half. Connect one end to RC and the other end to RH on the wall plate. Leave the wire that comes out of the wall attached to either RC or RH.