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You are here: Experts > Home/Garden > Home Appliances > Heating, Air Conditioning, Fridge, HVAC > Wiring of a Condensate Pump to my System
Expert: Norval Trimborn - 11/6/2009
Question
Hello Norval,
I have a question regarding the wiring of a safety switch of a condensate pump to my residential HVAC system.
I have read in a number of places that a good place to wire the safety switch would be in series with the Y wire which should be sufficient to cut the cooling system should the pump fail. I have a system with a heat pump and oil furnace (I believe they call it a dual stage - I live in Canada so we need the oil furnace to "kick in" when it gets really cold and the heat pump cant provide all the heat needed).
My question is, where is the best place to wire a safety on my system as I not only need the pump when the heat pump is cooling in the summer (and producing condensate), but also require it as my system has a pass through humidifier running while the heat pump/furnace is being used during the the rest of the year (the humidifier produces extra water that collects in the pump and gets pumped out periodically during a heating day). I was thinking I would wire it between the R wire as this would kill power to the thermostat if the pump failed, but is that a good idea? I understand the R wire supplies constant power to the thermostat - if that were cut, is there any damage in having no supply power to the thermostat for an extended period of time? Would no power to the thermostat essentially shut down the whole system? Is there a better place then the R (in your opinion) to wire the condensate pump switch safely?
Thanks in advance,
Stephen
Answer
If the pump must work both summer and winter you would have to break the "R" wire with the safety switch to prevent water damage if the pump didn't work. Hopefully you are not away for extended periods during the winter as a pump failure would be one more reason for the furnace not to work and the water pipes might freeze.
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