The Nest thermostat is one of the best-selling smart thermostats on the market today. And for good reason. It learns your temperature preferences and develops an energy-efficient schedule to match. And using geofencing with your phone, the Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest E are aware of when you’re at your house or gone and can adjust temperatures to help you save even more.

The Nest is compatible with a full 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 company for valuable rebates, since you could be able to get a Nest for free or close to it.

Once you’ve confirmed it’s compatible, you can either wire it yourself or contact a HVAC professional like Childress Heating & AC. If you’re putting it in without help, 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. In most cases, Nest says this isn’t a setback as the thermostat can draw enough 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 Problems

The Google Nest Thermostat is a step up from aging 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 operate your heating and cooling system.

8 Common Nest Thermostat Problems

If it can’t receive enough power, Nest says you might encounter some of these troubles:

  1. Poor battery life.
  2. Thermostat motion sensing won’t work.
  3. Your thermostat occasionally disconnects from Wi-Fi.
  4. Your system abruptly turns on or off, or won’t shut off.
  5. Your system is creating weird noises, such as chattering, stuttering, clicking or thumping.
  6. Heating or cooling is short cycling, or repeatedly 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 on, won’t switch on or turns off and on frequently in a short period of time.

You may think something is wrong with your heating and cooling system, but if you just got the Nest, it’s best to check your thermostat initially. This is especially pertinent if the weather is temperate, and you haven’t been using your heat or air conditioning consistently.

Our Specialists Can Fix Nest Thermostat Issues

If you’ve tried Nest thermostat troubleshooting on your own but can’t repair the problem, a smart thermostat professional including one from Childress Heating & AC can assist you. We can pinpoint the problem and put in a C-wire, if necessary.

Smart thermostats like the Nest are designed to make your life easier, through automatic energy-efficient programming and the ability to monitor temps while you’re away from home. It’s a frustrating experience when yours won’t operate properly, but our heating and cooling experts at Childress Heating & AC can fix the issue quickly.

If you’re experiencing odd heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, give us a call at to request your appointment now.