11-23-2021 06:36 PM
I had a nest learning thermostat Gen3 installed a few months ago. I have an all electric heat pump system and have had no issues with cooling. Now that the weather is getting colder the heat pump has been functioning ok, but when the outdoor temperatures get really cold the thermostat shows "Alt. Stage 2", but no heat is being produced. I have chatted with support, they asked me to switch my "W1 & W2" wires, but still no luck. I have attached a photograph of the old thermostat wiring, and also the initial wiring of my nest thermostat. Am I wired up correctly for the Aux heat to kick in?Old Thermostat Wiring
Original Nest Wiring
11-23-2021 06:51 PM
The wiring seems ok to me. Can you please review your heat pump balance settings? You can access them from the Nest App.
11-23-2021 07:00 PM
My app doesn’t have anything for heat pump balance. It shows that my alternate heat source is gas, but it isn’t.
11-23-2021 07:04 PM
If you go on the thermostat itself, and go to settings, and select nest sense, do you see it?
11-23-2021 07:15 PM
It is not listed there either.
11-23-2021 07:19 PM
Ok your Aux is not recognized. Looking closer at your pictures, although the wiring seems correct, the tabs for W1, W2aux and C do not seem pressed, which would mean the wires are not properly inserted in the wire base. Can you please ensure they are properly inserted? See how pressed down the tabs are for the other wires, it needs to be like that.
11-23-2021 07:55 PM
And once you have inserted those wires correctly, go to settings->equipment-> wiring on your Nest app and make sure that it does recognize all the physical wires you have on your wire base. This will ensure your Aux is properly configured. Then you should be able to see the heat pump balance setting, suggest you start with a max savings, and work your way up if that’s not enough Aux.
11-25-2021 06:03 AM
Hey BFurs, just following up on your issue, if still not resolved please don’t hesitate to reach out.
11-25-2021 06:22 AM
Hey laurentbourg, Thanks so much for your help! After doing some digging, and downloading the nest pro installation book (something I wish my nest pro would have done...) I figured out my issue. I have a single fuel system, but the thermostat would only allow setup for a dual-fuel because there were wires in both the W1 & W2 terminals. Since my system is singularly electric, I was supposed to have the W2 (white) wire in the "W2/Aux" terminal, and the W/E (brown) wire in the "*" terminal, set to emergency heat. When I switched those wires and reset the system everything started working correctly. The reason the house was getting so cold is because when the outside temperature dropped below 30, the thermostat was cutting off the heat pump and activating a gas furnace that I didn't have, so I had no heat source. Again, I appreciate your help!!
11-25-2021 06:28 AM
Ok great to hear it’s all resolved. Happy Thanksgiving if you are in the US.
12-16-2022 07:55 PM
Hi Laurentbourg!
I am having the same issue but my wiring is correct. ( I got it checked out multiple times)
My system is the same as Bfurs but without emergency heating. I tried restarting my Nest 3 times already, still no trace of heat pump balance !
I do have a heat pump paired with aux electric heater in my furnace. Any idea I can try to finnaly get heat pump balance ?
12-16-2022 07:56 PM