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 know when you’re at your home or away and can raise and lower temps to help you save even more.

The Nest can be used with a vast range of 24-volt heating and cooling systems, but it’s always a good idea to use the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before getting one. Don’t forget to contact your energy provider for valuable rebates, because you may 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 yourself or hire a HVAC pro like Diedrick's Heating and Air Conditioning. If you’re putting it in on your own, you’ll notice a terminal for the C-wire, or common wire. This wire is only 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 get adequate power from other heating and cooling wires.

Sometimes, your heating and cooling system could require that C-wire. And here’s why.

Why Your Nest Keeps Losing Power and Other Malfunctions

The Google Nest Thermostat is an improvement from outdated programmable thermostats that use a combination of wiring and AA batteries for power.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 run your heating and cooling system.

8 Common Nest Thermostat Malfunctions

If it can’t draw ample power, Nest says you might run into some of these issues:

  1. Poor battery life.
  2. Thermostat motion sensing won’t work.
  3. Your thermostat every now and then disconnects from Wi-Fi.
  4. Your system unexpectedly turns on or off, or won’t shut off.
  5. Your system is making odd noises, such as chattering, stuttering, clicking or thumping.
  6. Heating or cooling is short cycling, or frequently turning on and off in a short period of time.
  7. There is a delay message on your Nest thermostat’s screen, like “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
  8. The system fan is constantly on, won’t switch on or turns off and on rapidly in a short period of time.

You might think something is wrong with your heating and cooling system, but if you just installed the Nest, it’s best to begin with your thermostat first. This is especially timely if the weather is temperate, and you haven’t been running your heat or air conditioning consistently.

Our Professionals Can Fix Nest Thermostat Issues

If you’ve gone through Nest thermostat troubleshooting by yourself but can’t solve the dilemma, a smart thermostat professional like one from Diedrick's Heating and Air Conditioning can provide support. We can identify the issue and put in a C-wire, if required.

Smart thermostats including the Nest are designed to make your life easier, through automatic energy-efficient programming and the ability to keep an eye on temperatures while you’re away from home. It’s a time-consuming experience when yours won’t operate like it should, but our heating and cooling pros at Diedrick's Heating and Air Conditioning can resolve the problem in no time.

If you’re running into strange heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, reach out to us at 920-833-7967 to book your appointment right away.