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774 Review
39 Karma

Review on πŸ”Œ Enhance Your Nest Thermostat with the Google Nest Power Connector - Convenient C Wire Adapter and Accessories for Smart Thermostats by Marcos Fiallo

Revainrating 1 out of 5

Generic path not added

Recently installed a nested learning thermostat. I didn't have a C-cable, but the jack still worked fine. I read online that it's a matter of time before the low battery error occurs, so I thought I'd be proactive and add a charge path for the thermostat. Installation was very simple, opened up the HVAC panel, connected the R and Y thermostat wires to this power connector and R and Y from the connector back to the HVAC board. Additionally I connected the wire C coming from the connector to the connector C on the board. I used a multimeter to make sure it was indeed the C wire, which was pretty obvious since it came from the secondary of the 110/24 transformer. Annoyingly, socket learning doesn't give you any indication as to whether or not the socket is recognized and working. This should be added as this is from Google not a third party and the thermostat may receive updates. So I had to check the power in the thermostat settings. I have Iin=40mA with AC off and Iin=20mA with AC on, which is basically the same as without terminal C. Then, for a triple check, I unplugged and rerouted the G-wire (fan) to connector C on the thermostat and to the same C connector that I used previously with the HLK connector. Then I checked my thermostat settings and got Iin = 200mA showing that port C was indeed working. Unfortunately this isn't an acceptable solution for me as my AC doesn't automatically turn on the fan without the G connector. I couldn't find anywhere how this connector is supposed to work, but I assume it internally switches between the RY and RC path. Wise when RY is not needed so the thermostat doesn't have to draw that small current from RY without turning on or tripping the AC. However, this should work, but obviously not for me. I can see that some people are having luck with this item, but I'm still giving it a star because not only is it not working for me, but the device doesn't have a status indicator to tell if it's faulty or just not working on a specific one System. You could add some little LEDs or at least show on the thermostat or app that it's detected and if it's working/not working.

Pros
  • Satisfied so far
Cons
  • Some deficiencies