HVAC controller with user-friendly installation features with wire insertion detection

A thermostat comprising:

• a housing;
• a user interface comprising an electronic display;
• a processing system disposed within the housing and coupled to the user interface, the processing system being configured to be in operative communication with one or more temperature sensors for determining an ambient air temperature, in operative communication with one or more input devices including said user interface for receiving input from a user, and in still further operative communication with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to control the HVAC system based at least in part on a comparison of a measured ambient temperature and a setpoint temperature value;
• a plurality of HVAC connectors configured to receive a corresponding plurality of HVAC control wires corresponding to the HVAC system, each HVAC connector having an identifier that identifies one or more HVAC functionalities associated with that HVAC connector;
• and
• a connection sensing module coupled to said plurality of HVAC connectors and configured to determine the identities of a first subset of the plurality of HVAC connectors into which corresponding HVAC wires have been inserted, wherein the processing system is further configured to:
• select and display a first user inquiry to a user presented on the electronic display of the user interface, the first user inquiry selected from a group of user inquires each of which requests information regarding a type of system component to be controlled by the thermostat, and the selection of the first inquiry being based at least in part on determined identities of the first subset of the plurality of HVAC connectors into which corresponding HVAC wires have been inserted;
• allow the user, in response to the displayed first inquiry, to select between at least two types of system components to be controlled by the HVAC controller;
• accept a first selection by the user using the user interface, the selection identifying a type of system component to be controlled by the HVAC controller;
• modify configuration information of the thermostat based at least in part on the first selection;
• and
• control one or more HVAC system components of the HVAC system using the modified configuration information.

A method of installing and configuring a thermostat for controlling a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system wherein the thermostat is configured to control different types of HVAC system components, the method comprising:

• determining identities of a first subset of a plurality of HVAC connectors into which corresponding HVAC wires have been inserted, wherein the plurality of HVAC connectors are configured to receive a corresponding plurality of HVAC control wires corresponding to the HVAC system, each HVAC connector having an identifier that identifies one or more HVAC functionalities associated with that HVAC connector, and each HVAC connector having a mechanical mechanism configured to detect whether or not a wire is inserted into the connector, and wherein said determining identities of the first subset of HVAC connectors is based at least in part on use of the mechanical mechanisms;
• selecting and displaying a first user inquiry to a user presented on a user interface comprising an electronic display disposed within a housing of the thermostat, the first user inquiry selected from a group of user inquires each of which requests information regarding a type of system component to be controlled by the thermostat, and the selection of the first inquiry being based at least in part on the determined identities of the first subset of the plurality of HVAC connectors into which corresponding HVAC wires have been inserted, said selecting and displaying being performed at least in part by a processing system disposed within the housing of the thermostat and coupled to the user interface, the processing system being configured to be in operative communication with one or more temperature sensors for determining an ambient air temperature, in operative communication with one or more input devices including said user interface, and still in further operative communication with the HVAC system to control the HVAC system based at least in part on a comparison of a measured ambient temperature and a setpoint temperature value, wherein the electronic display of the user interface is configured to provide a graphical representation of a position of the plurality of HVAC connectors along with the functions assigned to each of the first subset of the plurality of HVAC connectors;
• allowing the user, in response to the displayed first inquiry, to select between at least two types of system components to be controlled by the HVAC controller;
• accepting a first selection by the user using the user interface, the selection identifying a type of system component to be controlled by the HVAC controller;
• using the processing system to modify configuration information of the thermostat based at least in part on the first selection;
• and
• using the modified configuration information of the thermostat when controlling one or more HVAC system components of the HVAC system by the processing system.