Can I add C wire to furnace?

Option 1: Add a C Wire to Your Furnace





If your furnace and new thermostat have a C terminal, you can simply run a new wire between your furnace and thermostat.

Where is the C wire on an old furnace?

If your system has a C-wire, it might be in use or just tucked away behind your current thermostat. If your system doesn’t have a C-wire, you’ll need to run a new cable from your furnace to your thermostat to install most of the modern smart thermostat models.

What is the easiest way to install a common C wire?

The installation process is very simple. A C wire transformer has two output wires; connect one wire to Rc terminal and the other wire to the C terminal of your thermostat. Once you finish this connection, plug the transformer into your mains power outlet.

Can I connect C wire to ground?

Wiring to the ground @ any outlet would potentially work, but is not good practice,as many things could go wrong and possibly short or overload the circuits in your furnace controls, not good! Happy trails. Hello, and welcome to Home Improvement. Thanks for the answer; keep ’em coming.

How many wires can be connected to the C terminal at the furnace?





Two wires per terminal in HVAC work is common (though not usually correct), while 3 or more will tend to use a pigtail.

Is C wire the same as RC wire?

1-2 of 2 Answers

No the Rc is the red wire. You need 5 wires or more for this to run with all the functions. You can use one of the other wires but you have to drop control of the fan. It will only come on when furnace comes on.

What is the C terminal on a furnace?

The c wire is an extra wire that can be used to provide a return path for continuous 24V power for any application. It’s normally used to provide a return path to power the thermostat. The “c” stands for common. It is often labeled as “c” on thermostat backplates.

How do you identify C wire?



When you open your thermostat, you can quickly identify your C-wire among five coloured wires by locating the wire (usually blue) connected to ‘terminal C. You may find there are fewer than five wires, or there is no wire attached to terminal C. It’s possible that the wires are tucked inside the wall.

What color is C wire?

Blue wires

Blue wires are also called “C” wires because they are the Common wire. C wires are necessary for any “smart” thermostat that needs to be connected to a power source 24/7, regardless of your heat pump type.

Is the C wire a neutral wire?



The C wire is more like a neutral wire (in electrical terms) and it completes the electrical circuit between the furnace (or any heating system) and the thermostat, thus ensuring a flawless power supply to thermostat even when the furnace is OFF.

Can you connect C wire to transformer?

If you have a heat-only system connected to your Sensi thermostat, an easy option for adding a common, or c-wire, is to install a 24 VAC wall plug-in transformer. Transformers with 150-400mA output are the most widely available online and easily provide sufficient power for the thermostat.

Can I use G wire for C wire?

Option #3: Use a G-Wire as a C-Wire

If there is no hidden C-wire, you can use a G-wire instead. However, you will not be able to use your fan independently when the heating or cooling isn’t running. Also, many HVAC systems are incompatible with this solution, including: HVAC systems using electric heat.

Can I install nest without C-wire?



According to the Nest website, your Nest thermostat will work without a C-wire but specialists still recommend using an adapter if you can’t get a C-wire installed. If your Best thermostat will not receive a constant flow of power, it might not work properly and it runs out of power it will not work at all.

What is the C-wire used for on a thermostat?

The C-Wire, or “common wire” enables the continuous flow of 24 VAC power to the thermostat. It’s a wire that (if you have one) runs all the way from your furnace to your thermostat.

Can I jump R to C on thermostat?

C is a common neutral wire. You can’t jump it from Rh as that is a 24v wire. You need a third wire, C, to return to the unit and hook to the common side of the transformer. For ease of thought, think of R as “hot” and C as “ground”.

Do I need a jumper from R to RC?

If you have a wire in the R terminal, and another wire (not a jumper) in the RC terminal, you will not need to connect the R and RC terminals. See our Basic Wiring article for more info here.

Can you use cat5 for thermostat wire?



There are 4 pair (8 conductors) solid copper (not stranded) in Cat5e as opposed to 3,4 or 5 wire thermostat wiring you see in homes today. Yes!

What has C-wire but no power?

Quick Check for an Existing C-wire:

If it has batteries, remove them. If the thermostat loses power it does not have a C-wire, and you may need an add-a-wire kit. If it doesn’t lose power, locate your breaker panel. Flip the breaker for the wall with the thermostat on it.