The Nest thermostat is one of the top-selling smart thermostats you can buy. And for good reason. It learns your temperature preferences and develops 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 adjust temps to help you save even more.

The Nest works with a full range of 24-volt heating and cooling systems, but it’s always a wise idea to visit the Nest thermostat compatibility checker before purchasing 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 install it yourself or contact a HVAC pro like Luikart Heating & Cooling. If you’re wiring it on your own, you’ll notice 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 problem since the thermostat can draw ample power from other heating and cooling wires.

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

Why Your Nest Keeps Losing Power and Other Malfunctions

The Google Nest Thermostat is better than outdated programmable thermostats that have a combination of wiring and AA batteries for power. It relies on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and wiring to sync with Wi-Fi, power its digital display and turn on your heating and cooling system.

8 Common Nest Thermostat Malfunctions

If it can’t draw adequate juice, Nest says you may have some of these troubles:

  1. Poor battery life.
  2. Thermostat motion sensing is disabled.
  3. Your thermostat sometimes disconnects from Wi-Fi.
  4. Your system unexpectedly turns on or off, or won’t stop running.
  5. Your system is creating odd noises, like 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, along the lines of “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
  8. The system fan is continuously running, won’t run or turns off and on repeatedly in a short period of time.

You might worry something is wrong with your heating and cooling system, but if you just installed the Nest, we suggest you start with your thermostat first. This is especially timely if the weather is mild, and you haven’t been using your heat or air conditioning consistently.

Our Professionals 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 pro such as one from Luikart Heating & Cooling can assist you. We can determine the malfunction and install a C-wire, if required.

Smart thermostats like the Nest are designed to make your life more convenient, by automatic energy-efficient programming and the ability to check settings while you’re out. It’s a time-consuming experience when yours won’t run like it should, but our heating and cooling pros at Luikart Heating & Cooling can resolve the issue in no time.

If you’re running into unexplained heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, call us at to set up your appointment now.