Does Nest Thermostat work with a 2-stage cooling system with a heat pump?

[EricRizzo]

I'm getting a new 2-stage cooling system with a heat pump (typical in Florida), replacing a single-stage cooling with heat pump. The installers don't think my Nest Thermostat is compatible, because my system uses an orange O/B wire to control the heat pump. I've read that 2-stage cooling can work with the Nest by connecting the Y2 wire to the Nest's O/B terminal, but the orange O/B wire is connected there now (from the old system).

So is the Nest thermostat compatible with a system that has 2-stage cooling and a heat pump? If so, how should it be wired?

[CoolingWizard]

Hello EricRizzo,

yes, indeed the nest learning thermostat can indeed handle two stages of cooling. With a heat pump the compressor with two stages will operate as two stages for cooling and for heating, depending on what mode the thermostat system is set in, ie, Heating or Cooling. Your Stage 1 is Y1 and your Stage 2 is Y2.

The AC Cooling Wizard

[EricRizzo]

I don't have the Learning model, just the basic Nest Thermostat.

[CoolingWizard · Accepted solution]

EricRizzo,

Unfortunately the for a multistage heat pump, you need a Nest Learning Thermostat. The basic Nest Thermostat does not support multistage heating or Cooling. 

The AC Cooling Wizard

[Markjosephp]

Hello there,

I wanted to stop by and see how I could help.

Thanks for your help here, @CoolingWizard.

@EricRizzo, in addition to what was shared above, I did find a helpful article about multistage heating and cooling systems with the Nest Thermostat. Please let us know if you have more questions.

Regards,
Mark

[Markjosephp]

Hi EricRizzo,

I'm checking back in — how's it going? Still need our help?

Regards,

Mark

[Markjosephp]

Hello EricRizzo,

It has been a few days since your last reply, and we're going to lock the thread within 24 hours. If you have any questions, please feel free to create a new post.

Regards,

Mark