Where does the R terminal of a thermostat connect to?

Author: Miller Reichert  |  Last update: Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Basic Wiring. In the most basic form of control, the C or common terminal of the low voltage transformer is connected in parallel to all of the control relays. The R terminal of the low-voltage transformer is connected through the thermostat to each control relay.

Where does the R wire go on a thermostat?

The R wire is the power wire for your heating and cooling system. If you only have one R wire (no Rh or Rc), you can connect your R wire to either Rc or Rh on the Nest thermostat. Important: Don't connect any Jumper wires to the Nest thermostat.

Do I connect R to RC or Rh?

The placement of the R wire, also known as the power or 24-volt wire, depends on the specific HVAC system and thermostat setup. In most cases, the R wire is connected to either the RC (cooling) terminal or the RH (heating) terminal on the thermostat.

What does the R terminal stand for in HVAC?

R - The R terminal is the power for the thermostat. This comes from the transformer usually located in the air handler for split systems but you may find the transformer in the condensing unit.

Are R and C wires the same?

Though both wires are red, they are not interchangeable. For the thermostat to work properly, the red wires must be connected to the correct corresponding terminal. The C, or common wire, provides smart thermostats with continual power. It's usually blue, but it may also be black, brown or purple.

Thermostat Jumper Wire Between Rh & Rc Terminals

What happens if you wire a thermostat wrong?

If you wire a thermostat wrong, you may damage the thermostat, the electrical system, or the HVAC unit itself, which makes the entire installation process more frustrating. You may find yourself testing thermostat wires for hours, trying to get them right.

What does R mean in electrical wiring?

In an electric circuit, R stands for Resistance. Resistance is a measure of the opposition to current flow in an electrical circuit. Resistance is measured in ohms, symbolized by the Greek letter omega (Ω).

What is the R terminal connected to in a standard thermostat wiring scheme?

Final answer: The R terminal in a standard thermostat wiring is connected to the HVAC system's power supply, usually a 24-volt source from the furnace or air handler.

How do I know which wires go where on a thermostat?

Thermostat Wire Color Coding
  1. Red Wire is a part of every type of thermostat. ...
  2. White Wire is used for heating. ...
  3. Green Wire is for an indoor fan. ...
  4. Yellow Or Blue Wire is for cooling. ...
  5. Black (Or Blue) Wire is the so-called C wire or common wire.

What is the R terminal used for?

R in general

In general terms, the R terminal is where you connect the signal voltage source. In low voltage controlled systems, there will be a step down transformer that provides the power to the control circuitry.

What is R on Honeywell thermostat?

Last updated. 5/31/24. This is a built-in jumper switch in case there are two transformer systems. If there is only one R-Wire and it is connected to the R, Rc, or Rh terminal on the old thermostat, set the slider to the up position (1 wire).

How to jumper wire from RC to Rh?

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.

Can I use RC wire as C wire?

The C wire's primary purpose is to give power to operate the thermostat itself. No, they're not like the RH and RC wires because these two power the systems and not the thermostat.

Should there be a jumper between R and RC?

If you have two wires, R or RH go into the R terminal and RC into the RC terminal. If you have more than one wire (for example, you have a wire labeled R and another wire labeled Rc), remove any jumpers between the R and Rc terminals or push the switch to open the RC terminal to insert a wire.

Why does my thermostat have 2 R wires?

With dual-transformer systems you'll have two R wires—one from the cooling transformer (Rc) and one from the heating transformer (Rh).

Does Rh go to R or RC?

If you have separate heating and air conditioning systems, you might have separate Rh and Rc wires that come out of the wall and are connected to your system. These are not jumper wires, and you can insert the Rc wire into the Rc connector and the Rh wire into the Rh connector.

What color is the R wire on a thermostat?

Red (R): The Power Player

Rc (Cooling): The Rc wire serves as the power source for your cooling system. When your thermostat calls for cooling, the Rc wire sends the signal to your air conditioning compressor or condenser unit.

Why is there no power going to my thermostat?

In this case, you'll want to check for the following: Tripped Circuit Breaker: The main issue here is not with the thermostat itself but with the electrical panel. Go to the breaker panel and locate the circuit breaker for your thermostat. If it's off, try to reset the breaker switch.

What is the R terminal used for on a thermostat?

R is constant 24V to the thermostat. When the thermostat “calls”, or switches on a certain function, power from R is sent to the other wires. W sends power from your thermostat to the heat source if the thermostat needs to bring on heat. In the case of a heat pump system, W will be the emergency heat or backup heat.

What happens if you touch thermostat wires together?

Most thermostat wires operate on 24-volt power provided by a transformer, and they are generally safe to work on without shutting off the circuit feeding the thermostat wiring. However, if the low voltage wires touch each other during the work, the system's internal fuse will blow.

How do you identify thermostat wires?

Look for wire connectors

It looks like a circuit board and usually has many wires connected to it. Look for wire connectors that are the same as your thermostat. You should see labels like R, W, G, Y, C, O/B. * The wires connected to these connectors should be the same color as those connected to your thermostat.

What do R and W mean on a thermostat?

Some of the other wires powering your thermostat include: R-wire – Power, usually red. G-wire – Fan, usually green. Y-wire – Cooling, usually yellow. W-wire – Heat, usually white.

What does R mean in connection?

The capital 'R' that appears next to the signal bars on phones is the data roaming symbol. When you see it, it means your phone's connected to a network that isn't its regular one. Without roaming you won't be able to use mobile internet while out of the country.

What is the R in current electricity?

Ohm's Law Equation : V = IR, where V is the voltage across the conductor, I is the current flowing through the conductor and R is the resistance provided by the conductor to the flow of current.

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