Why Your Nest Thermostat Isn't Running Right and How to Repair It

April 13, 2021

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 gone and can adjust temperatures to help you save even more.

The Nest is compatible with a vast range of 24-volt heating and cooling systems, but it’s always a wise idea to check the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before purchasing one. Don’t forget to check with your energy supplier for valuable rebates, because you might be able to get a Nest for free or close to it.

Once you’ve checked it’s compatible, you can either hook it up without help or call a HVAC pro like JTech Mechanical. If you’re wiring it yourself, you’ll spot 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 an issue because the thermostat can pull ample power from other heating and cooling wires.

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

Why Your Nest Keeps Losing Power and Other Issues

The Google Nest Thermostat is an improvement from older programmable thermostats that rely on a combination of wiring and AA batteries for power. It has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and wiring to connect to Wi-Fi, power its digital display and operate your heating and cooling system.

8 Common Nest Thermostat Issues

If it can’t get ample electricity, Nest says you could have some of these problems:

  1. Bad battery life.
  2. Thermostat motion sensing won’t operate.
  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 producing odd noises, like chattering, stuttering, clicking or thumping.
  6. Heating or cooling is short cycling, or constantly turning on and off in a short period of time.
  7. There is a delay message on your Nest thermostat’s screen, such as “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
  8. The system fan is continuously running, won’t switch on or turns off and on rapidly in a short period of time.

You might believe something is suspect with your heating and cooling system, but if you just got the Nest, we suggest you begin with your thermostat initially. This is especially timely if the weather is mild, and you haven’t been relying on your heat or air conditioning consistently.

Our Pros Can Fix Nest Thermostat Problems

If you’ve attempted Nest thermostat troubleshooting by yourself but can’t solve the dilemma, a smart thermostat specialist including one from JTech Mechanical can provide assistance. We can determine the malfunction and add 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 check settings while you’re away from home. It’s an annoying experience when yours won’t operate correctly, but our heating and cooling pros at JTech Mechanical can resolve the trouble in no time.

If you’re experiencing unexplained heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, reach out to us at 281-231-8768 to set up your appointment right away.