The Nest thermostat is one of the top-selling smart thermostats you can buy. And for good reason. It figures out your temperature preferences and develops 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 home or out and about 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 visit the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before installing one. Don’t forget to contact your energy company for valuable rebates, since 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 install it on your own or hire a HVAC professional like Strine's Heating & Air Conditioning. If you’re wiring it on your own, you’ll spot 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. Most of the time, Nest says this isn’t a setback as the thermostat can pull adequate power from other heating and cooling wires.
In some instances, your heating and cooling system might require 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The Google Nest Thermostat is better than outdated programmable thermostats that rely on a combination of wiring and AA batteries for power.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 turn on your heating and cooling system.
8 Common Nest Thermostat Issues
If it can’t draw enough juice, Nest says you could encounter some of these problems:
- Poor battery life.
- Thermostat motion sensing is disabled.
- Your thermostat occasionally disconnects from Wi-Fi.
- Your system unexpectedly turns on or off, or won’t shut off.
- Your system is making odd noises, such as chattering, stuttering, clicking or thumping.
- Heating or cooling is short cycling, or constantly turning on and off in a short period of time.
- There is a delay notification on your Nest thermostat’s screen, along the lines of “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
- The system fan is continuously on, won’t run or turns off and on repeatedly in a short period of time.
You could believe something is up with your heating and cooling system, but if you just installed the Nest, we suggest you start with your thermostat right away. This is especially true if the weather is temperate, and you haven’t been using your heat or air conditioning frequently.
Our Professionals Can Solve Nest Thermostat Troubles
If you’ve gone through Nest thermostat troubleshooting by yourself but can’t fix the dilemma, a smart thermostat pro including one from Strine's Heating & Air Conditioning can help. We can narrow down the malfunction and install a C-wire, if needed.
Smart thermostats such as the Nest are designed to make your life more convenient, through automatic energy-efficient programming and the opportunity to check 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 pros at Strine's Heating & Air Conditioning can take care of the trouble fast.
If you’re running into weird heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, reach out to us at 717-383-4479 to set up your appointment right away.