The Nest thermostat is one of the best-selling smart thermostats on the market today. And for good reason. It learns your temperature preferences and makes 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 away and can change temperatures to help you save even more.
The Nest can be used with a full range of 24-volt heating and cooling systems, but it’s always a good idea to check the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before purchasing one. Don’t forget to contact your energy company for valuable rebates, since you might be able to get a Nest for free or close to it.
Once you’ve checked it’s compatible, you can either wire it on your own or call a HVAC pro like Forster Heating. If you’re wiring it on your own, you’ll spot a terminal for the C-wire, or common wire. This wire is solely used for powering your thermostat. If your residence or HVAC system is older, you might not have one of these wires. In the majority of cases, Nest says this isn’t an issue as the thermostat can pull enough power from other heating and cooling wires.
In some cases, your heating and cooling system could need that C-wire. And here’s why.
Why Your Nest Keeps Losing Power and Other Issues
The Google Nest Thermostat is better than outdated programmable thermostats that have a combination of wiring and AA batteries for power. It relies on 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 draw adequate electricity, Nest says you may have some of these troubles:
- Bad battery life.
- Thermostat motion sensing won’t work.
- Your thermostat sometimes disconnects from Wi-Fi.
- Your system abruptly turns on or off, or won’t stop running.
- Your system is producing strange 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 notice on your Nest thermostat’s screen, such as “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
- The system fan is always running, won’t turn on or turns off and on repeatedly in a short period of time.
You may think something is up with your heating and cooling system, but if you just started using the Nest, we advise you start with your thermostat right away. This is especially timely if the weather is temperate, and you haven’t been running your heat or air conditioning much.
Our Specialists Can Fix Nest Thermostat Troubles
If you’ve gone through Nest thermostat troubleshooting on your own but can’t repair the dilemma, a smart thermostat professional like one from Forster Heating can support you. We can determine the problem and add a C-wire, if required.
Smart thermostats including the Nest are designed to make your life easier, through automatic energy-efficient programming and the opportunity to keep an eye on temps while you’re on the go. It’s a time-consuming experience when yours won’t work correctly, but our heating and cooling specialists at Forster Heating can resolve the issue quickly.
If you’re running into weird heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, reach out to us at 530-885-8081 to request your appointment today.