Cooling not showing as an option

[Tracyten10]

Like many other posts, I’m having trouble accessing the cooling option with my nest thermometer. Heating has been working fine, and this is the first time I’ve tried to activate the AC.  I’ve included a picture of the wiring, if that’s helpful, and I just re-inserted all the wires, and they’re all the way in. Perhaps one of them is incorrect? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[CoolingWizard]

The terminal that initiates Air Conditioning Cooling is the Y terminal. You have no wire in the Y terminal. Do you still have a picture of the old thermostat showing the wires attached?

The AC Cooling Wizard

[Tracyten10]

I don’t unfortunately.  I never took one…which was silly in hindsight.  Any suggestions which wire might need to be moved?

[CoolingWizard]

The only way to help you best, I will need you to go to the air handler and get me a picture of the wires so we can see which wire is the Y wire in the air handler. 

The AC Cooling Wizard

[Tracyten10]

That may be tough…it’s on the roof!  I’m checking with neighbors in my building, who may be able to take a picture of the wiring on their control panels

[Tracyten10]

My neighbor has an ecobee, which requires him to change from heating to cooling based on the season.  He’s got the same wiring, so it sounds like I need this option.  I assume best doesn’t have that?

[CoolingWizard]

The entire HVAC equipment in the world operates exact same way. When you have a thermostat in a conventional HVAC system, the Y wire is what is what is used to initiate cooling, the W wire is used initiate heating, the G wire is used to turn on the blower fan, and the R wire is the incoming power to the thermostat. If you have a separate heating and cooling system, there is no need typically to do a “switch over.” Wind on the other hand, you have a hydronic ( water) base system, then there may be a need to do a switch over. This is very old-school and very antiquated type system.

In order for me to best help you, please get the make and model number of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit and post it here.

The AC Cooling Wizard

[Tracyten10]

I called a pro to come and look.  Turns out I needed to install a C wire.

[Jenelyn_O]

Hi there,
 

Thanks for reaching out. I'm sorry for the delay. Nest thermostats are designed to use very little power, and typically they can use your system’s heating and cooling wires to get enough consistent power. If your Nest Thermostat detects that it didn't receive sufficient power, you may need to connect a common wire (C wire) or Nest Power Connector. You can check this link to get additional information about Nest Power Connector.

I appreciate your help, @CoolingWizard.
 

Best,

Jenelyn

[Jenelyn_O]

Hi folks,

Checking if you still need help, please let us know so we can further assist you. 

Thanks,

Jenelyn

[Jake]

Hey there,

I wanted to check in, and let you know that I will be locking the thread in 24 hours.

Best regards,

Jake