The Nest thermostat is one of the most popular smart thermostats on the market today. And for good reason. It learns your temperature preferences and develops an energy-efficient schedule to match. And by geofencing with your phone, the Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest E know when you’re at your house or away and can raise and lower settings to help you save even more.
The Nest works with a wide range of 24-volt heating and cooling systems, but it’s always a wise idea to use the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before purchasing one. Don’t forget to check with your energy supplier for valuable rebates, since you may be able to get a Nest for free or close to it.
Once you’ve confirmed it’s compatible, you can either install it without help or call a HVAC specialist like Age Heating & Cooling. If you’re wiring it yourself, you’ll see a terminal for the C-wire, or common wire. This wire is just used for powering your thermostat. If your residence or HVAC system is older, you might not have one of these wires. Most of the time, Nest says this isn’t a problem since the thermostat can get adequate power from other heating and cooling wires.
In some cases, 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 aging programmable thermostats that rely on a combination of wiring and AA batteries for power. It uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and wiring to sync with Wi-Fi, power its digital display and turn on your heating and cooling system.
8 Common Nest Thermostat Problems
If it can’t draw adequate juice, Nest says you may encounter some of these problems:
- Bad battery life.
- Thermostat motion sensing is disabled.
- Your thermostat sometimes disconnects from Wi-Fi.
- Your system abruptly turns on or off, or won’t stop running.
- Your system is making 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 message on your Nest thermostat’s screen, such as “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
- The system fan is continuously working, won’t turn on or turns off and on frequently in a short period of time.
You may worry something is up with your heating and cooling system, but if you just installed the Nest, we advise you check your thermostat right away. This is especially pertinent if the weather is temperate, and you haven’t been relying on your heat or air conditioning much.
Our Specialists Can Solve Nest Thermostat Troubles
If you’ve attempted Nest thermostat troubleshooting on your own but can’t fix the issue, a smart thermostat professional like one from Age Heating & Cooling can provide support. We can pinpoint the problem and install a C-wire, if necessary.
Smart thermostats like the Nest are made to make your life simpler, through 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 pros at Age Heating & Cooling can fix the problem fast.
If you’re going through atypical heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, call us at to schedule your appointment right away.
