The digital multimeter is the ideal tool to have to double check your wiring before applying power to the circuit.
Mount the wall-mounted thermostat on the wall opposite the wall where the baseboard heater is mounted, this will ensure even heating of the room. Because you will be running new wiring and rerouting old wiring, you will need to get an electrical wiring permit from the local department of building permits and licensing before starting this project. You will also need to have a rough in and final inspections performed on your work before applying power to the baseboard heater circuit. The National Electrical Code and the Local electrical codes require that you have the permit and the inspections.
Instructions
1. Apply for the wiring permit. When you apply for the permit, you will need to provide the engineer with a sketch of your proposed wiring and a detailed list of the materials that you intend to use. Wait for the wiring permit to arrive in the mail. Post the permit on the front door of your home before starting this project.
2. Turn off the circuit breaker or remove the fuses controlling the baseboard heater circuit. Remove the cover to the baseboard heater's electrical connection box on the end of the heater. Some baseboard heaters do not have a separate cover for the electrical connections, and you will have to remove the cover for the full length of the heater.
3. Turn on your digital multimeter's power switch. Set the digital multimeter's function switch to the "AC Volts" function position. Push the test probes tips inside the wire nuts covering the "Red" and "Black" wire splices until they make contact with the bare wires. The meter's liquid crystal display (LCD) should display a reading of 0.000 volts. If the meter displays 120.0 volts or 240.0 volts, you need to find the circuit breaker controlling the circuit before proceeding further.
4. Disconnect the red and black leads at the heater. Place the wire nuts back on the wires coming from the service panel as a safety precaution.
5. Locate the line thermostat so that the top of the device box will be 53 and 1/2 inches above the finished floor line. There is no rule governing this mounting height so if the home has handicapped individuals, feel free to mount it lower. Use the device box itself as a template for outlining the cutout.
6. Drill 3/8-inch hole in each inside corner of the cutout and then finish removing the cutout using the portable jig saw. You goal here is to make the cutout conform as closely to the outside edges of the device box as possible.
7. Drill a 3/4-inch in diameter hole through the wall's "Sill Plate," the wall's bottom horizontal framing member, into the wall space where the thermostat is to be located. The easiest way to drill this hole is to drill up from below, working from the basement or from the basement crawlspace.
8. Run two lengths of Romex cable from the heater to the cutout for the thermostats. You can run these cables along the sides of floor joist or through holes drilled in them. The holes must be drilled so that the near edges of the holes will be 1and 3/4 inches from the nearest edge of the floor joist. When running the cables along thew sides of the joists, they must be secure every 4 and 1/2 feet with Romex staples.
9. Insert the ends of both cables in the device box until they extend six inches beyond the front edge of the box. Insert the box in the wall and secure in place by turning the mounting screws in a clockwise direction, drawing the mounting wings tightly against the inside of the wall.
10. Insert the opposite ends of the two cables into the baseboard heater until they extend six inches inside the connection box.
11. Remove the outer jacket from the cable ends using the razor knife. Leave ¼ inch of the jacket intact where they enter the boxes. Remove 1/2 inches of insulation from the end of the wires with the wire strippers.
12. Re-identify the white wires by wrapping their exposed length with black tape. At the heater location, slice the Black and re-identified white wire of one cable to the matching wires coming from the service panel. To make a splice, hold the wires side by side and twist them tightly together using the Lineman's pliers. Twist them together in a clockwise direction. Finish the splices by screwing on wire nuts. Splice the same wires coming from the second cable to the baseboard heater leads.
13. Attach the bare ground wires to the green grounding screws on the heater.
14. Make loops in the end of the wires in the thermostat device box with the needle nose pliers. Place the stripped ends under the line screws on the thermostat in a clockwise direction. Tighten the screws down on them. The wires from one cable attach to the top set of screws and the wires from the other cable attach to the bottom set of screws. The bare ground wires attach to the green screw on the thermostat.
15. Call for the inspection. After the inspection, install the thermostat in the box and install its cover, replace the cover on the baseboard and turn the circuit breaker back on.
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