The Nest thermostat is one of the best-selling smart thermostats on the market today. And for good reason. It figures out your temperature preferences and develops an energy-efficient schedule to match. And by geofencing with your phone, the Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest E are aware of when you’re at your residence or gone and can adjust settings to help you save even more.

The Nest can be used with a wide range of 24-volt heating and cooling systems, but it’s always a good idea to visit the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before getting one. Don’t forget to contact your energy provider for valuable rebates, because you might be able to get a Nest for free or close to it.

Once you’ve confirmed it’s compatible, you can either install it on your own or call a HVAC professional like Heartland Heating & Cooling. If you’re installing it on your own, you’ll spot a terminal for the C-wire, or common wire. This wire is only used for powering your thermostat. If your home or HVAC system is older, you might not have one of these wires. Most of the time, Nest says this isn’t an issue because the thermostat can draw adequate power from other heating and cooling wires.

In some instances, your heating and cooling system might have to have that C-wire. And here’s why.

Why Your Nest Keeps Losing Power and Other Issues

The Google Nest Thermostat is a step up from older programmable thermostats that have a combination of wiring and AA batteries for power. It has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and wiring to connect to Wi-Fi, power its digital display and operate your heating and cooling system.

8 Common Nest Thermostat Malfunctions

If it can’t get enough electricity, Nest says you could run into some of these problems:

  1. Poor battery life.
  2. Thermostat motion sensing won’t work.
  3. Your thermostat sometimes disconnects from Wi-Fi.
  4. Your system abruptly turns on or off, or won’t turn off.
  5. Your system is making weird noises, including chattering, stuttering, clicking or thumping.
  6. Heating or cooling is short cycling, or frequently turning on and off in a short period of time.
  7. There is a delay message on your Nest thermostat’s screen, like “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
  8. The system fan is continuously running, won’t switch on or turns off and on frequently in a short period of time.

You might worry something is up with your heating and cooling system, but if you just got the Nest, we advise you begin with your thermostat right away. This is especially timely if the weather is moderate, and you haven’t been relying on your heat or air conditioning frequently.

Our Pros Can Resolve Nest Thermostat Issues

If you’ve gone through Nest thermostat troubleshooting by yourself but can’t repair the problem, a smart thermostat pro such as one from Heartland Heating & Cooling can assist you. We can determine the issue and add a C-wire, if needed.

Smart thermostats such as the Nest are designed to make your life easier, with automatic energy-efficient programming and the option to monitor temps while you’re on the go. It’s a time-consuming experience when yours won’t work like it should, but our heating and cooling specialists at Heartland Heating & Cooling can take care of the issue quickly.

If you’re running into atypical heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, give us a call at 515-344-3579 to request your appointment right away.