Venstar EXPLORER Technical manual

Thank You

Congratulations and thank you for purchasing

your new Venstar EXPLORER®thermostat. This

guide is intended to help you install and setup

the basic features of the EXPLORER®Thermostat.

For a full owner’s manual and installation guide,

visit Venstar.com.

Compatibility

Venstar EXPLORER®Thermostat is designed to work with 24V systems

requiring both the R & C wires. This includes gas, electric, oil, forced

air, variable speed, heat pump and radiant heat. It can control:

• Heating: one, two and three stages (W1, W2, W3)

• Cooling: one and two stages (Y1, Y2)

• Heat pump: with auxiliary and emergency heat (Y, W1, O/B)

• Fan (G)

• Power (C, R)

• Humidiﬁer or dehumidiﬁer (HUM, DEHUM)

• Dual fuel systems (heat pump with furnace, T3900 only)

• Whole-home humidiﬁers and dehumidiﬁers

WiFi Network

& Password

Screw Driver Pencil

Leve

liers

Hammer or Drill

(3/16" or 7/ 32" drill bits)

Thermostat Thermostat

Base

Drywall Anchors

and Screws

This Quick Start

Manual

Contents

Necessary Tools

Step 1 - Power O Current System

1) Go to your home’s circuit breaker panel

and switch the furnace and air conditioner

breakers o.

2) To conﬁrm power is o, adjust the

temperature on your current thermostat.

If the system does not respond

accordingly, power has probably been

successfully shut o.

WARNING: Failure to follow this step can result in personal

injury and/or death from shock and electrocution.

Step 2 - Remove Faceplate

Remove the faceplate of current system. Most faceplates snap-o or

feature small screws that will need to be removed.

WARNING: If you see large thick

electrical wires, wire nuts, or if your

system is labeled 120V or 240V DO

NOT PROCEED. THIS THERMOSTAT

IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THESE

SYSTEMS

WARNING: Failure to follow this step

can result in personal injury and/or

death from shock and electrocution.

Side View

Wall Thermostat

Step 3 - Before you go any further

Determine what your existing wiring and equipment situation is

before you disconnect any wires. If you are unsure of what type of

system you have, you may need to seek professional support.

A. If you have a Heating only system without Air Conditioning, the

Venstar EXPLORER thermostat will require 3 wires. These 3 wires

are: R (24Vac), C (24Vac) and W (Heat). Most Heating only systems

use very simple thermostats that only require 2 wires the R (24Vac)

and W (Heat). The EXPLORER thermostat requires 3 wires to the

thermostat. In this case an Add-A-Wire accessory will not work

and it will be necessary to install another wire for the C (24Vac)

connection.

B. If you have a single stage fossil fuel heater with air conditioning,

the Venstar EXPLORER will require 5 wires for independent fan

control. They are R (24Vac), C (24Vac), W (Heat), Y (Cooling), and G

(Fan). You may connect only 4 wires, as instructed below, to the

EXPLORER but will give up independent fan control. The fan will

still operate with a Heating or Cooling demand.

• If there are only 4 wires present that are connected to the existing

thermostat, there are at least 3 options available to connect the

Venstar EXPLORER thermostat, they are:

1. Use the 4 wires as instructed below and note that the fan will

only operate with a Heating or Cooling demand.

2. Pull new thermostat wire from the HVAC equipment to the

thermostat so that there are at least 5 wires available.

3. Purchase and install a Venstar Add-A-Wire accessory

(ACC-0410).

C. If you have a multi stage HVAC system comprised of a fossil fuel

heater with air conditioning the Venstar EXPLORER will require the

5 wires mentioned above (R, C, W, Y, and G) plus an additional wire

for each additional stage of Heating or Cooling. You may reduce

the 5 wire requirement to 4 if you give up independent fan control,

or use the optional accessory; Add-A-Wire.

D. If you have a heat pump without aux heat the Venstar EXPLORER

will require 5 wires: R (24Vac), C (24Vac), W1/O/B (reversing valve), Y

(1st stage compressor), and G (fan). If there are only 4 wires present

that are connected to the existing thermostat, there are at least 3

options available to connect the Venstar EXPLORER thermostat,

they are:

1. Use the 4 wires as instructed below and note that the fan will

only operate with a Heating or Cooling demand.

2. Pull new thermostat wire from the HVAC equipment to the

thermostat so that there are at least 5 wires available.

3. Purchase and install a Venstar Add-A-Wire accessory (ACC-0410).

E. If you have a heat pump with aux heat the Venstar EXPLORER will

require 6 wires: R (24Vac), C (24Vac), W1/O/B (reversing valve), Y (1st

stage compressor), W2 (Aux Heat) and G (fan). If there are only 5

wires present that are connected to the existing thermostat, there

are at least 3 options available to connect the Venstar EXPLORER

thermostat, they are:

1. Use the 5 wires as instructed below and note that the fan will

only operate with a Heating or Cooling demand.

2. Pull new thermostat wire from the HVAC equipment to the

thermostat so that there are at least 6 wires available.

3. Purchase and install a Venstar Add-A-Wire accessory (ACC-0410).

MAKING 4 WIRES WORK when 5 are required

(without the optional Add-A-Wire accessory)

• If you have an all-electric heat system with air conditioning, this

method is not an option. You must either pull new wire or use the

optional Add-A-Wire accessory (ACC-0410).

• If you have a single stage fossil fuel heater with air conditioning,

and you would like install the Venstar EXPLORER using only 4 wires,

follow the directions below. You will need a screwdriver along with

a 3” or 4” long piece of thermostat wire to use as a jumper.

1. Make sure the power is o as step 1 on page 4 instructs you.

2. Follow step 4 on page 9 “Label and Disconnect Wires” at the

thermostat. Please note the color and the corresponding wire

designator with each color. An example is the R wire is red and the

W wire is white and so on. You will need this for the next step at

the HVAC equipment.

3. At the equipment end of the thermostat wires, locate the

terminals that the wires are attached to.

A. Remove the “G wire” from the terminal marked G.

B. Place the “G wire” on terminal C.

C. Place one end of the jumper on terminal G.

D. Place the other end of the jumper on terminal Y.

Please note that there will be more than 1 wire on terminal Y.

4. Connect the wires to the terminals on the EXPLORER backplate

taking care to make sure that each wire from the HVAC equipment

is connected to the same terminal designation on the EXPLORER

backplate. For example: the “C wire” from the HVAC equipment

should be connected to the “C” terminal of the thermostat. The

“R” wire on the equipment terminal should be connected to the

“R” terminal on the EXPLORER backplate, and so on.

MAKING 5 WIRES WORK when 6 are required

(without the optional Add-A-Wire accessory)

• If you have an all-electric heat system with air conditioning, this

method is not an option. You must either pull new wire or use the

optional Add-A-Wire accessory (ACC-0410).

• If you have a multi stage system that requires 6 wires, and you

would like install the Venstar EXPLORER using only 5 wires, follow the

directions below. You will need a screwdriver along with a 3” or

4” long piece of thermostat wire to use as a jumper.

1. Make sure the power is o as step 1 on page 6 instructs you.

2. Follow step 4 on page 9 “Label and Disconnect Wires” at the

thermostat. Please note the color and the corresponding wire

designator with each color. An example is the R wire is red and the

W wire is white and so on. You will need this for the next step at

the HVAC equipment.

3. At the equipment end of the thermostat wires, locate the

terminals that the wires are attached to.

A. Remove the “G wire” from the terminal marked G.

B. Place the “G wire” on terminal C.

C. Place one end of the jumper on terminal G.

D. Place the other end of the jumper on terminal Y.

Please note that there will be more than 1 wire on terminal Y.

E. Connect the wires to the terminals on the EXPLORER backplate

taking care to make sure that each wire from the HVAC

equipment is connected to the same terminal on the EXPLORER

backplate. For example: the “C wire” from the HVAC equipment

is connected to the “C” terminal of the thermostat and so on.

Step 4 - Label & Disconnect Wires

1) One by one, apply a label

designated to each wire

you disconnect from

your current thermostat.

TIP: Before disconnecting any wires,

take a photo of your current wire

conﬁguration with your mobile device.

Wire from the Install on the

old thermostat Function new thermostat Wire

terminal marked connector marked Color

G or F Fan G

Y1, Y Cooling Y1

W1, W Heating W1/0/B

Rh, R, M, Vr, A Power R

C Common C

O/B Rev. Valve W1/O/B*

W2 2nd Stage Heat W2

Y2 2nd Stage Cooling Y2

W3 3rd Stage Heat W3

H, Hum Humidity HUM

D, Dehum Dehumidity DEHUM

Ck1 Dry Contact Switch DRY CONTACT

CKGND Dry Contact Switch DRY CONTACT

* O/B is used if your system is a Heat Pump.

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