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 makes an energy-efficient schedule to match. And by 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 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 smart idea to use the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before getting one. Don’t forget to talk with your energy supplier for valuable rebates, because you may 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 professional like AW Heating & Air Conditioning. If you’re putting it in yourself, 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 most cases, Nest says this isn’t an issue since the thermostat can get adequate power from other heating and cooling wires.

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

Why Your Nest Keeps Losing Power and Other Malfunctions

The Google Nest Thermostat is an improvement from aging programmable thermostats that have 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 receive ample electricity, Nest says you might have some of these problems:

  1. Short battery life.
  2. Thermostat motion sensing won’t work.
  3. Your thermostat sometimes disconnects from Wi-Fi.
  4. Your system abruptly turns on or off, or won’t stop running.
  5. Your system is producing odd noises, like 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 notification on your Nest thermostat’s screen, along the lines of “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
  8. The system fan is constantly running, won’t turn on or turns off and on repeatedly in a short period of time.

You might believe something is suspect with your heating and cooling system, but if you just installed the Nest, we advise you start with your thermostat initially. This is especially timely if the weather is mild, and you haven’t been using your heat or air conditioning frequently.

Our Specialists Can Resolve Nest Thermostat Troubles

If you’ve tried Nest thermostat troubleshooting by yourself but can’t fix the problem, a smart thermostat pro like one from AW Heating & Air Conditioning can support you. We can diagnose the issue and add a C-wire, if necessary.

Smart thermostats such as the Nest are created to make your life simpler, with automatic energy-efficient programming and the ability to check temperatures while you’re on the go. It’s a frustrating experience when yours won’t operate properly, but our heating and cooling experts at AW Heating & Air Conditioning can fix the problem fast.

If you’re running into strange heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, call us at to book your appointment right away.