Nest Installation for boiler heat only

[MissyMag]

We had to purchase new Nest thermostats in our condo. We have a boiler system, heat only. There are 4 thermostats, and each has only two wires. They WERE working perfectly (thanks, Google). The box of the new Nest thermostats says mfg: 03/2024. I have no idea what generation these new Nest thermostats are. I also have no idea what thermostat this new nest is, the box doesn’t say. My question is: will this thermostat work with our two-wire system?  If not, is there a thermostat that will?  I don’t want to hire an electrician and install 4 C-wires. We just had to spend over $500 for 4 new thermostats, when the original ones were working just fine. (Again, thanks Google). 

[Derickf]

Hi @MissyMag,

Thank you for posting in the community. I understand that you would like to confirm if your new Nest Thermostat will work only with two wires and without a C-wire. I know how difficult this situation may be, and I appreciate you sharing all this relevant information about your system. No worries, I'll be glad to assist you.

Based on the information you provided, you have a Nest Thermostat (2020). While this model is compatible with your two-wire boiler system (R and W), for guaranteed stability and to prevent Wi-Fi and power issues, it requires a continuous power source. Therefore, to ensure stable operation for all four units without hiring an electrician to install new C-wires, you will need to purchase and install a Nest Power Connector for each thermostat. As an alternative, you can use a Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen) because it is designed to work whether or not your home has a common C-wire.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Best regards,

Derick.

[MissyMag]

Thank you for your response, Derick. Our condominium complex has a massive boiler room and I don’t even know how it would be possible to go into the room and patch our system. 

The good news is, we installed the Google Thermostat E over the weekend. All four are working. The bad news is, on my husband’s phone, three of the four thermostats are on the Nest app, and one is on his Google Home app, along with the three cameras and our other home’s devices. On my phone, I only have the three cameras on the Google Home app, and nothing at all on my Nest app. This “progress” is after 6-1/2 hours with AI trying to sync our condo’s three cameras and four thermostats to one app on both of our phones, the way it was before Google decided not to support first and second gen thermostats. 

If I have to read AI saying, “I understand your frustration” one more time, I think I’ll scream. Is there some way to speak to someone at Google who can walk us through the steps of syncing our devices on our Google Home app?