The Nest thermostat is one of the top-selling smart thermostats you can buy. And for good reason. It learns your temperature preferences and creates an energy-efficient schedule to match. And by geofencing with your phone, the Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest E realize when you’re at your house or gone and can adjust temps to help you save even more.
The Nest is compatible with a vast range of 24-volt heating and cooling systems, but it’s always a good idea to check the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before installing one. Don’t forget to check with your energy company for valuable rebates, as you could be able to get a Nest for free or close to it.
Once you’ve confirmed it’s compatible, you can either wire it without help or hire a HVAC professional like Point Heating & Cooling. If you’re installing it yourself, you’ll notice 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. In most cases, Nest says this isn’t a problem because the thermostat can get adequate power from other heating and cooling wires.
In some instances, your heating and cooling system could require that C-wire. And here’s why.
Why Your Nest Keeps Losing Power and Other Issues
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 connect to Wi-Fi, power its digital display and run your heating and cooling system.
8 Common Nest Thermostat Issues
If it can’t get enough power, Nest says you could run into some of these problems:
- Poor battery life.
- Thermostat motion sensing won’t operate.
- Your thermostat sometimes disconnects from Wi-Fi.
- Your system abruptly turns on or off, or won’t shut off.
- Your system is producing weird noises, such as chattering, stuttering, clicking or thumping.
- Heating or cooling is short cycling, or frequently turning on and off in a short period of time.
- There is a delay notification on your Nest thermostat’s screen, along the lines of “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
- The system fan is constantly running, won’t run or turns off and on repeatedly in a short period of time.
You might believe something is suspect with your heating and cooling system, but if you just installed the Nest, we advise you start with your thermostat right away. This is especially pertinent if the weather is mild, and you haven’t been using your heat or air conditioning consistently.
Our Professionals Can Fix Nest Thermostat Troubles
If you’ve attempted Nest thermostat troubleshooting on your own but can’t solve the issue, a smart thermostat pro like one from Point Heating & Cooling can provide support. We can diagnose the problem and put in a C-wire, if necessary.
Smart thermostats such as the Nest are designed to make your life easier, through automatic energy-efficient programming and the option to check temps while you’re away from home. It’s a time-consuming experience when yours won’t work like it should, but our heating and cooling specialists at Point Heating & Cooling can take care of the issue quickly.
If you’re running into weird heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, call us at to request your appointment right away.