The Nest thermostat is one of the best-selling smart thermostats you can get. And for good reason. It picks up on your temperature preferences and creates an energy-efficient schedule to match. And through 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 adjust settings 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 wise idea to visit the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before getting one. Don’t forget to contact 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 hook it up yourself or hire a HVAC professional like Central Heating & Plumbing. If you’re installing 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 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 as the thermostat can get adequate power from other heating and cooling wires.
In some instances, your heating and cooling system might need that C-wire. And here’s why.
Why Your Nest Keeps Losing Power and Other Issues
The Google Nest Thermostat is a step up from older programmable thermostats that use 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 Problems
If it can’t draw adequate power, Nest says you may have some of these problems:
- Poor battery life.
- Thermostat motion sensing is disabled.
- Your thermostat sometimes disconnects from Wi-Fi.
- Your system suddenly turns on or off, or won’t stop running.
- Your system is producing odd 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, like “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
- The system fan is always working, won’t switch on or turns off and on repeatedly in a short period of time.
You could worry something is up with your heating and cooling system, but if you just started using the Nest, we recommend you start with your thermostat right away. This is especially true if the weather is mild, and you haven’t been running your heat or air conditioning much.
Our Pros Can Solve Nest Thermostat Troubles
If you’ve gone through Nest thermostat troubleshooting without help but can’t solve the problem, a smart thermostat pro like one from Central Heating & Plumbing can provide support. We can determine the malfunction and install a C-wire, if required.
Smart thermostats like the Nest are made to make your life simpler, through automatic energy-efficient programming and the opportunity to keep an eye on temps while you’re on the go. It’s a frustrating experience when yours won’t run like it should, but our heating and cooling specialists at Central Heating & Plumbing can fix the trouble quickly.
If you’re going through unexplained heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, call us at 724-401-1843 to schedule your appointment now.