The Nest thermostat is one of the most popular smart thermostats on the market today. And for good reason. It picks up on your temperature preferences and creates an energy-efficient schedule to match. And using geofencing with your phone, the Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest E realize when you’re at your house or gone and can adjust temperatures 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 good idea to visit the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before purchasing one. Don’t forget to check with your energy provider for valuable rebates, as 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 wire it without help or call a HVAC pro like May's Heating & Air. If you’re putting it in 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 house or HVAC system is older, you might not have one of these wires. In the majority of cases, Nest says this isn’t a problem as the thermostat can draw enough power from other heating and cooling wires.
In some cases, your heating and cooling system might need that C-wire. And here’s why.
Why Your Nest Keeps Losing Power and Other Malfunctions
The Google Nest Thermostat is better than outdated programmable thermostats that have a combination of wiring and AA batteries for power.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 turn on your heating and cooling system.
8 Common Nest Thermostat Problems
If it can’t receive enough electricity, Nest says you could encounter some of these problems:
- Bad battery life.
- Thermostat motion sensing won’t operate.
- Your thermostat sometimes disconnects from Wi-Fi.
- Your system suddenly turns on or off, or won’t stop running.
- Your system is creating strange noises, like 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, like “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
- The system fan is always working, won’t turn on or turns off and on frequently in a short period of time.
You might think something is wrong with your heating and cooling system, but if you just started using the Nest, we recommend you check your thermostat first. This is especially pertinent if the weather is temperate, and you haven’t been using your heat or air conditioning much.
Our Pros Can Solve Nest Thermostat Issues
If you’ve gone through Nest thermostat troubleshooting on your own but can’t fix the problem, a smart thermostat professional like one from May's Heating & Air can support you. We can determine the malfunction and install a C-wire, if necessary.
Smart thermostats like the Nest are designed to make your life more convenient, through automatic energy-efficient programming and the option to check settings while you’re away from home. It’s a frustrating experience when yours won’t work correctly, but our heating and cooling experts at May's Heating & Air can resolve the issue in no time.
If you’re running into unexplained heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, call us at to request your appointment right away.