The Nest thermostat is one of the top-selling smart thermostats on the market today. And for good reason. It picks up on your temperature preferences and creates 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 residence or out and about and can change temperatures 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 installing one. Don’t forget to check with 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 wire it on your own or hire a HVAC professional like Total Comfort. If you’re wiring it 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 residence or HVAC system is older, you might not have one of these wires. In most cases, Nest says this isn’t a setback since the thermostat can pull enough power from other heating and cooling wires.
In some instances, your heating and cooling system may have to have that C-wire. And here’s why.
Why Your Nest Keeps Losing Power and Other Problems
The Google Nest Thermostat is an improvement 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 turn on your heating and cooling system.
8 Common Nest Thermostat Problems
If it can’t receive ample electricity, Nest says you may run into some of these troubles:
- Bad battery life.
- Thermostat motion sensing won’t work.
- Your thermostat sometimes disconnects from Wi-Fi.
- Your system abruptly turns on or off, or won’t stop running.
- Your system is creating 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 message on your Nest thermostat’s screen, along the lines of “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
- The system fan is constantly on, won’t turn on or turns off and on rapidly in a short period of time.
You could worry something is up with your heating and cooling system, but if you just installed the Nest, we recommend you begin with your thermostat first. This is especially timely if the weather is moderate, and you haven’t been relying on your heat or air conditioning consistently.
Our Specialists Can Solve Nest Thermostat Problems
If you’ve gone through Nest thermostat troubleshooting on your own but can’t solve the issue, a smart thermostat pro including one from Total Comfort can assist you. We can determine the malfunction and add a C-wire, if required.
Smart thermostats such as the Nest are designed to make your life simpler, by automatic energy-efficient programming and the opportunity to keep an eye on temperatures while you’re out. It’s a frustrating experience when yours won’t work like it should, but our heating and cooling experts at Total Comfort can take care of the trouble in no time.
If you’re running into odd heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, call us at 201-268-5663 to schedule your appointment today.