The Nest thermostat is one of the best-selling smart thermostats on the market today. And for good reason. It picks up on 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 home or out and about and can raise and lower temps to help you save even more.
The Nest is compatible with a full range of 24-volt heating and cooling systems, but it’s always a good idea to use the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before installing one. Don’t forget to check with your energy company for valuable rebates, as you might be able to get a Nest for free or close to it.
Once you’ve made sure it’s compatible, you can either wire it on your own or hire a HVAC specialist like Heartland Heating & Cooling. If you’re wiring it without help, you’ll spot a terminal for the C-wire, or common wire. This wire is solely used for powering your thermostat. If your home or HVAC system is older, you might not have one of these wires. In the majority of cases, Nest says this isn’t a setback since the thermostat can get enough power from other heating and cooling wires.
Sometimes, 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 better than older programmable thermostats that have a combination of wiring and AA batteries for power. It has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and wiring to sync with Wi-Fi, power its digital display and operate your heating and cooling system.
8 Common Nest Thermostat Issues
If it can’t draw ample juice, Nest says you could have some of these problems:
- Bad battery life.
- Thermostat motion sensing is disabled.
- Your thermostat occasionally disconnects from Wi-Fi.
- Your system abruptly turns on or off, or won’t turn off.
- Your system is producing weird noises, such as chattering, stuttering, clicking or thumping.
- Heating or cooling is short cycling, or repeatedly turning on and off in a short period of time.
- There is a delay message on your Nest thermostat’s screen, such as “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
- The system fan is continuously on, won’t switch on or turns off and on frequently in a short period of time.
You could think something is wrong with your heating and cooling system, but if you just installed the Nest, we suggest you check your thermostat first. This is especially pertinent if the weather is moderate, and you haven’t been running your heat or air conditioning much.
Our Specialists Can Resolve Nest Thermostat Issues
If you’ve attempted Nest thermostat troubleshooting by yourself but can’t fix the dilemma, a smart thermostat professional including one from Heartland Heating & Cooling can provide support. We can determine the problem and put in a C-wire, if required.
Smart thermostats such as the Nest are designed to make your life easier, with automatic energy-efficient programming and the opportunity to monitor temps while you’re away from home. It’s a frustrating experience when yours won’t work correctly, but our heating and cooling specialists at Heartland Heating & Cooling can resolve the problem in no time.
If you’re running into atypical heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, call us at to set up your appointment today.