The 3 wires sticking out of the wall connect to terminals on the subbase marked R,Y and G. Not knowing the colors of your wires you will have to go up to the air handler and find the low voltage terminal strip which will have these (and several other)wires attached to it and note what color is attached to what terminal. IE: red to R, green to G etc. Now connect the wires to the ternimals on the tstat the same way. Make sure unit is shut off for all of this. Now the wire connected to Y on the terminal strip, (which is the cooling circuit) should have another wire connected to it and that goes down to the condenser. Another wire going to the same place should be connectd to a terminal labeled C. Incidentally, the wire connected to Y at the tstat may not be connected to a terminal in the air handler at all. It might just be connected with a wire nut to the wire that goes out to the condenser. Depends on your particular brand of unit and how it was installed. And no don't reply with the brand you have, I'm not an encyclopedia! :-) If all goes well the unit will run, if not and you're lucky it won't run and nothing will happen. If you're unlucky it won't run but might short something out that could cost you alot more then the cost of having somebody else come and hook it up. Do you feel lucky? Just out of curiosity why in the world did you have the idiot remove the other thermostat if he didn't have one to replace it with right way? Considering it's gonna be a hot one today I bet that clicking wouldn't have been no where near as annoying today providing the house was nice and cool right? Oh well, hope this helps without being to confusing, and good luck if you try. JB

There is lots of information available on manufacturers' web sites and other sites. The problem in installing ducts in an existing house is that you either have to install a return in every room, or install other means of air transfer to one or two central returns. That means undercutting doors or putting jump ducts or grilles in the walls. Any pressure differential between rooms will cause air to flow into our out of the room through the house's envelope. Any leaks in ducts in the attic will cause air to be sucked into the house at another location to replace that. In your position, I would think seriously about mini or multi splits. You can get wall-mounted and ceiling -mounted indoor units. Where do you live? Do you have window units now? If so, how well do they serve you for cooling?

Finding a ductless split that doesnÂt use wireless infrared communication with a remote stat or DDC type communication with a wall stat, is just about impossible. The major reason for this is most are manufactured or was at least designed overseas, thus the technology. I can think of one company, EMI by ECR Int. with some US roots, located in central NY that has AC/HP wall units that can still use a remote wired wall stat that should give you the contacts/points to control operation with a main control interface. Here is a link that might be useful: EMI

A mini-split is just that- a split system. There is a compressor, which goes on the outside like any other central A/C. Then, there are refrigeration lines which are run through the wall to the interior unit. There are several options inside. The cheapest, easiest, and most efficient is a wall-hung unit, which is what we used. You do have to get used to the unit hanging high up on the wall, but you don't 'see' it after a while. They also have ceiling cassettes, which mount in the ceiling, and all you see ids a duct, much like other central systems. Lastly, they make ducted units, which are usually mounted in a wall, and they can run several ducts off of one head. Another option is multi-head systems, which use one compressor outside, which runs several indoor units. All of these options cost more, and are a bit less efficient, although quality mini-splits far out-perform most traditional central systems. Mini-splits are heat pumps, with most of them providing both heat and A/C. The SEER number, a measure of efficiency, is usually 13-16 for traditional central systems, whereas the Mits units are 30! The outdoor unit is small- it might stick out 2' from the wall, total. You have to leave space between the wall and the unit so it can circulate air. They are also light- about 80 lbs. I was able to lift mine up on to the bracket by myself- and I'm in my 60's. ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) is a building method using big hollow foam blocks, which are stacked up like Legos, and then filled with rebar and concrete. Very tight and well insulated. Ideally, you should do a Manual J calculation, or have one done. This accurately determines how much heating/cooling your house actually needs. If the unit is way too small, or way too big, you won't be happy. A reputable dealer can do this, or you can buy a program and run the numbers yourself. I used HVACCalc, $50 for a one-use license. DON'T let a contractor give you a 'ballpark' estimate; they could be way off. I had a contractor try to tell me what size system I needed over the PHONE! He hadn't even seen the house. His guesstimate was 300% too big, which would have worked very poorly indeed. Indoor unit: Outdoor unit: