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 creates 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 residence or away and can change settings 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 purchasing one. Don’t forget to check with your energy company for valuable rebates, as you may be able to get a Nest for free or close to it.

Once you’ve checked it’s compatible, you can either wire it on your own or call a HVAC professional like Gopher Heating and Air Conditioning. If you’re wiring it without help, you’ll see a terminal for the C-wire, or common wire. This wire is only used for powering your thermostat. If your residence or HVAC system is older, you might not have one of these wires. Most of the time, Nest says this isn’t an issue as the thermostat can get adequate power from other heating and cooling wires.

In some cases, your heating and cooling system may have to have that C-wire. And here’s why.

Why Your Nest Keeps Losing Power and Other Issues

The Google Nest Thermostat is better than older programmable thermostats that have a combination of wiring and AA batteries for power. It uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and wiring to connect to Wi-Fi, power its digital display and run your heating and cooling system.

8 Common Nest Thermostat Malfunctions

If it can’t receive enough electricity, Nest says you might have some of these issues:

  1. Poor battery life.
  2. Thermostat motion sensing won’t work.
  3. Your thermostat sometimes disconnects from Wi-Fi.
  4. Your system suddenly turns on or off, or won’t shut off.
  5. Your system is making strange 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 notice on your Nest thermostat’s screen, like “heating is delayed for 2:30 minutes.”
  8. The system fan is constantly running, won’t switch on or turns off and on frequently in a short period of time.

You may believe something is wrong with your heating and cooling system, but if you just installed the Nest, we advise you check your thermostat initially. This is especially pertinent if the weather is temperate, and you haven’t been relying on your heat or air conditioning frequently.

Our Professionals Can Resolve Nest Thermostat Problems

If you’ve gone through Nest thermostat troubleshooting without help but can’t fix the problem, a smart thermostat professional such as one from Gopher Heating and Air Conditioning can assist you. We can pinpoint the problem and add a C-wire, if necessary.

Smart thermostats including the Nest are created to make your life easier, by automatic energy-efficient programming and the opportunity to monitor temps while you’re out. It’s a time-consuming experience when yours won’t operate correctly, but our heating and cooling specialists at Gopher Heating and Air Conditioning can take care of the problem quickly.

If you’re experiencing atypical heating and cooling behavior with your new Nest, call us at to schedule your appointment today.