Location

• The best place to install a thermostat in a two-story home is someplace that is easily accessible by everyone in the home. It is often easiest to place the thermostat on the ground level and that way it will not be difficult to run wire from the basement. However, sometimes the second floor can be colder or hotter depending on the time of year in older houses. If this is the case you may want to relocate the thermostat to an upstairs bedroom or purchase a thermostat with a remote control so that you can increase or decrease the temperature as needed without having to go downstairs. The basic rules of placing a thermostat are to place it on an interior wall that is five feet up from the floor. Another rule to follow when placing a thermostat is to place it out of direct sunlight or drafty areas because those conditions could negatively affect the thermostat's temperature reading.
  
  

Installing

• The first thing that you should do when installing a thermostat in a two-story home is to turn off the breaker switches to the furnace and the air conditioner. If these breakers are not turned off before you pull wires it could result in a blown fuse or could even shock you. When installing a new thermostat you should run the air conditioner and heater wires up from the basement and pull them up to a nearby interior wall. A small hole should then be drilled so that as the wires are pulled up, you can pull them out. Once the wires are pulled out they should be labeled and wrapped around a pencil so that they do not fall back through the wall. You should then take the new thermostat and place it flush against the wall. Place a level on top of the thermostat mount to be sure that it is level and proceed to drill holes. Once the mount is screwed in then connect the wires to their corresponding locations. Snap on the thermostat cover and turn the breakers back on. If the thermostat does not work then you probably connected the wires wrong. Flip the breakers off again and reconnect the wires until the thermostat functions properly.