
The Nest thermostat is one of the top-selling smart thermostats you can get. And for good reason. It figures out your temperature preferences and develops an energy-efficient schedule to match. And using geofencing with your phone, the Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest E know when you’re at your home or away and can adjust temps to help you save even more.
The Nest is compatible with a wide range of 24-volt heating and cooling systems, but it’s always a wise idea to use the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before getting one. Don’t forget to check with your energy provider for valuable rebates, because you could be able to get a Nest for free or close to it.
Once you’ve made sure it’s compatible, you can either install it without help or call a HVAC pro like Freed Heating & Air Conditioning. If you’re installing it on your own, you’ll see a terminal for the C-wire, or common wire. This wire is just used for powering your thermostat. If your house or HVAC system is older, you might not have one of these wires. Most of the time, Nest says this isn’t a problem since the thermostat can pull adequate power from other heating and cooling wires.
In some cases, your heating and cooling system might have to have that C-wire. And here’s why.
Why Your Nest Keeps Losing Power and Other Malfunctions
The Google Nest Thermostat is an improvement from aging programmable thermostats that use a combination of wiring and AA batteries for power. It uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and wiring to sync with Wi-Fi, power its digital display and turn on your heating and cooling system.
8 Common Nest Thermostat Issues
If it can’t receive ample power, Nest says you might run into some of these troubles:
- Bad battery life.
- Thermostat motion sensing won’t work.
- Your thermostat occasionally disconnects from Wi-Fi.
- Your system suddenly turns on or off, or won’t shut off.
- Your system is producing strange noises, like chattering, stuttering, clicking or thumping.
- Heating or cooling is short cycling, or constantly turning on and off in a short period of time.
- There is a delay message on your Nest thermostat’s screen, along the lines of “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
- The system fan is always running, won’t switch on or turns off and on rapidly in a short period of time.
You may worry something is wrong with your heating and cooling system, but if you just got the Nest, we suggest you begin with your thermostat initially. This is especially true if the weather is mild, and you haven’t been running your heat or air conditioning much.
Our Pros Can Solve Nest Thermostat Problems
If you’ve tried Nest thermostat troubleshooting by yourself but can’t repair the dilemma, a smart thermostat pro like one from Freed Heating & Air Conditioning can support you. We can determine the problem and add a C-wire, if required.
Smart thermostats including the Nest are created to make your life easier, through automatic energy-efficient programming and the opportunity to keep an eye on temperatures while you’re out. It’s a frustrating experience when yours won’t operate properly, but our heating and cooling pros at Freed Heating & Air Conditioning can fix the trouble fast.
If you’re running into unexplained heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, call us at to request your appointment today.