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 makes an energy-efficient schedule to match. And by geofencing with your phone, the Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest E are aware of when you’re at your home or away and can raise and lower temps to help you save even more.
The Nest works with a full range of 24-volt heating and cooling systems, but it’s always a smart idea to check the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before installing 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 confirmed it’s compatible, you can either hook it up on your own or contact a HVAC specialist like Bell Mechanical Services. If you’re putting it in on your own, you’ll notice 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. In the majority of cases, Nest says this isn’t a problem as the thermostat can draw ample 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 Malfunctions
The Google Nest Thermostat is a step up from older programmable thermostats that have a combination of wiring and AA batteries for power. It uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and wiring to link to Wi-Fi, power its digital display and run your heating and cooling system.
8 Common Nest Thermostat Malfunctions
If it can’t receive enough electricity, Nest says you could run into some of these problems:
- Bad battery life.
- Thermostat motion sensing is disabled.
- Your thermostat every now and then disconnects from Wi-Fi.
- Your system suddenly turns on or off, or won’t turn off.
- Your system is producing odd 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 notification on your Nest thermostat’s screen, such as “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 worry something is wrong with your heating and cooling system, but if you just installed the Nest, we recommend you start with your thermostat first. This is especially timely if the weather is moderate, and you haven’t been using your heat or air conditioning frequently.
Our Pros Can Fix Nest Thermostat Troubles
If you’ve attempted Nest thermostat troubleshooting without help but can’t fix the dilemma, a smart thermostat specialist including one from Bell Mechanical Services can assist you. We can diagnose the issue and put in a C-wire, if required.
Smart thermostats including the Nest are designed to make your life easier, by automatic energy-efficient programming and the opportunity to monitor temps while you’re away from home. It’s a time-consuming experience when yours won’t operate properly, but our heating and cooling experts at Bell Mechanical Services can resolve the problem quickly.
If you’re going through unexplained heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, call us at to book your appointment now.