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 develops 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 home or away and can adjust temps to help you save even more.

The Nest is compatible with a wide 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 talk with your energy provider for valuable rebates, because you could 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 on your own or hire a HVAC professional like Bain Heating & Air Conditioning. If you’re installing it yourself, you’ll see 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. Most of the time, Nest says this isn’t a setback because the thermostat can pull adequate power from other heating and cooling wires.

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

Why Your Nest Keeps Losing Power and Other Malfunctions

The Google Nest Thermostat is a step up from outdated programmable thermostats that rely on a combination of wiring and AA batteries for power.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

8 Common Nest Thermostat Problems

If it can’t get adequate juice, Nest says you may run into some of these problems:

  1. Bad 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 producing strange noises, including 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, such as “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
  8. The system fan is always running, won’t switch on or turns off and on repeatedly in a short period of time.

You may worry something is wrong with your heating and cooling system, but if you just started using the Nest, we suggest you begin with your thermostat right away. This is especially pertinent if the weather is mild, and you haven’t been relying on your heat or air conditioning frequently.

Our Specialists Can Fix Nest Thermostat Issues

If you’ve gone through Nest thermostat troubleshooting on your own but can’t solve the issue, a smart thermostat professional including one from Bain Heating & Air Conditioning can assist you. We can identify the issue and add a C-wire, if needed.

Smart thermostats such as the Nest are designed to make your life more convenient, with automatic energy-efficient programming and the option to keep an eye on settings while you’re on the go. It’s an annoying experience when yours won’t work like it should, but our heating and cooling specialists at Bain Heating & Air Conditioning can fix the trouble in no time.

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