The short answer
A Google Nest works on most Rheem and Ruud systems in Northern Virginia. Ruud is Rheem’s sister brand, built by the same company, so the answer is the same for both. A regular Rheem or Ruud gas furnace, air conditioner or heat pump runs fine on a Nest once a C wire gives it steady power. The exception is an EcoNet system, Rheem’s communicating setup, where the thermostat talks to the equipment over two data wires marked E1 and E2. A Nest has nowhere to put those wires. On an EcoNet system, keep the EcoNet thermostat. On everything else, a Nest, an ecobee or a Honeywell Home all work.
EcoNet or regular: how to tell
Turn the system off, pull the thermostat off its wall plate, and look at the letters. Take a photo before you unhook a single wire.
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| What you see | What you have | Will a Nest run it? |
|---|---|---|
| Wires on R, C, E1 and E2, sometimes S1 and S2 for a sensor | A Rheem or Ruud EcoNet system | No. Keep the EcoNet thermostat |
| Five to eight wires on letters like R, W, Y, G, C and O | A regular 24 volt Rheem or Ruud | Yes, with a C wire |
| Letters, but no C and no spare wire in the bundle | A regular system that will run a Nest short on power | Yes, once a C wire is run |
The terminal names come from Rheem’s EcoNet Smart Thermostat guide, which lists E1 and E2 as the EcoNet communication wires. Rheem marks the equipment that uses them EcoNet Enabled, so check the furnace and outdoor unit labels too. For regular equipment, Rheem’s own spec sheet for the ecobee it offers says it works with most non-communicating Rheem Family of Brands systems. That’s the line: non-communicating, a smart thermostat works. EcoNet, keep the EcoNet thermostat. Google says the same thing from its side: proprietary systems aren’t compatible with a Nest.
Nest on a regular Rheem: the good and the catch
The good: the Nest Learning Thermostat learns your schedule and builds it for you, shows your heating and cooling hours in the app, and on a heat pump its Heat Pump Balance setting decides how hard to lean on the backup heat. If your house runs on Google Home, it’s the easy pick.
The catch is power. Plenty of Rheem and Ruud furnaces in Northern Virginia townhouses and closets were wired with no C wire to the thermostat. A Nest wants steady power, and without a C wire it borrows it through the heat and cool wires. Google lists the signs:
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| What you notice | What’s going on | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| A low battery warning, a dark screen, or Wi-Fi dropping | Not enough power without a C wire | Connect a spare wire as C at both ends |
| Delayed or Starts in, again and again | The Nest is waiting on power before it runs the system | The same C wire. Once it has power, the waits stop |
| Clicking, the system cycling on its own, or the fan running nonstop | The Nest is pulling power through the heat or cool wire | A C wire, then set the fan to Auto |
| E1, E297, N260 or N261 | Google’s codes for a missing or weak C wire | A spare wire, Google’s Nest Power Connector, or a new wire pulled |
Nest codes on a Rheem or Ruud, and what’s usually behind them
The Nest code tells you which wire lost power. The full list is in our Nest error code guide.
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| Nest code | Google says | On a Rheem or Ruud, usually |
|---|---|---|
| E2, E22, E72 | No power wires, Rc or Rh required | Power is off at the furnace or air handler, or the R wire came loose |
| E4, E24, E74 | No power to Rh | The furnace switch or breaker is off, the door switch isn’t pressed because the lower door is loose, a board fuse blew, or the condensate float switch tripped |
| E5, E25, E75 | No heating or cooling detected | W1 or Y1 isn’t connected, or a wire broke in the wall |
| E9, E29, E79 | No power to C | The C wire isn’t landed at the furnace board, or a spare wire was never hooked up there |
| E52 to E58 | Overcurrent on HVAC equipment | A shorted wire or a failing part. Stop resetting it. More in the Nest overcurrent error |
Before you reset, look at the furnace. A Rheem or Ruud furnace blinks a status code on its control board. Write it down first, because cutting the power can clear it. Our Rheem furnace codes and Ruud furnace codes guides read them. On a heat pump, see Rheem heat pump error codes.
Heat pump trouble that comes from the setup
- Heat blows cold and the AC blows warm. The reversing valve setting is backwards. Rheem and Ruud heat pumps usually use O, and a Nest starts on O, so on a Rheem the wire is the first suspect. The setting lives in the Google Home app under Settings, Thermostat, Heat pump.
- Backup heat runs all the time, or never. The AUX wire isn’t landed where the Nest expects it, or Heat Pump Balance is set to save the most on a cold night. See aux heat vs emergency heat.
- Dual fuel. A heat pump with a gas furnace as backup needs a Nest that lists dual fuel. Check Google’s compatibility checker first.
Nest, EcoNet, Honeywell or ecobee on a Rheem
Is Google Nest the best thermostat? On a Rheem, it depends on whether it’s EcoNet.
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| Thermostat | Runs EcoNet? | Runs a regular Rheem or Ruud? | Pick it if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Nest Learning Thermostat | No | Yes, with a C wire | You want it to learn your schedule and you use Google Home |
| Google Nest Thermostat | No | Yes, basic systems | You want simple and lower priced |
| EcoNet Smart Thermostat | Yes, it’s built for it | Made for EcoNet equipment | Your furnace or outdoor unit says EcoNet Enabled |
| Honeywell Home smart thermostat | No | Yes | You want room sensors or lots of models to pick from |
| ecobee | No | Yes. Rheem offers one for its non-communicating systems | You want room sensors and Alexa or Apple Home. We install it for a flat price |
What we’d put on your wall
- EcoNet Rheem or Ruud: keep the EcoNet thermostat. If it’s failing, replace it with another EcoNet thermostat, not a Nest. It runs from your phone through Rheem’s EcoNet app.
- A regular Rheem or Ruud furnace and AC: a Nest if you live in Google Home, an ecobee or a Honeywell Home if one room runs cold. Have a C wire run either way.
- A Rheem or Ruud heat pump: a Nest Learning Thermostat or an ecobee, with the AUX wire landed right and the reversing valve checked on the first cold night.
When to call us
Call when a code keeps coming back after a reset, when the furnace light is blinking, or when you’d rather not open the furnace door. We work on Rheem and Ruud furnaces, ACs, heat pumps and EcoNet systems across Northern Virginia, and we check the furnace code and the thermostat wiring on the same visit. A repair visit starts with a flat $99 diagnostic, and you get the price of the fix before we start. Heat pump acting up? See heat pump repair.
Want the smart thermostat done for you? Our ecobee install is a flat $549 for the thermostat and the install: wired, mounted and set up on your phone before we leave. Heading into winter, our heating check is $67 per system, through December 31: furnace, heat pump or boiler.
Have a different brand?
- Google Nest on a Trane system
- Google Nest on a Carrier system
- Google Nest on a Lennox system
- Google Nest on a Goodman, Amana or Daikin system
- Google Nest on a Bryant system
The system we put in first
Built to take a beating. Put in by our crew.
Heat lamps, snow and rain on one outdoor unit: that’s Trane’s own film. We’re a Trane Comfort Specialist, on Trane’s own dealer locator, and when you pick a Trane, our crew puts it in.
Films: Trane’s own.
Book it
Rated 5.0 stars across 1,138 reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook. Virginia Class A license 2705192276. Book a visit online or call (703) 997-9757. Book from goswiftpro.com/cookiesoffer and a box of warm cookies comes with the visit.
Questions people ask
Does Google Nest work with Rheem?
Yes on regular 24 volt Rheem furnaces, air conditioners and heat pumps once there’s a C wire. Not on a Rheem EcoNet system, which talks to its own thermostat over the E1 and E2 wires.
Does a Nest work with Ruud?
Ruud is Rheem’s sister brand, so the answer is the same. A regular Ruud runs on a Nest with a C wire. A Ruud EcoNet system keeps the EcoNet thermostat.
Can I replace my Rheem EcoNet thermostat with a Nest?
On an EcoNet system, no. A Nest has no terminals for the E1 and E2 communication wires. Replace a failing EcoNet thermostat with another EcoNet thermostat.
How do I know if my Rheem is EcoNet?
Pull the thermostat off the wall. Wires on E1 and E2 mean EcoNet. An EcoNet Enabled label on the furnace or outdoor unit points the same way.
Is ecobee better than Nest on a Rheem?
On a regular Rheem both work, and Rheem offers an ecobee for its non-communicating systems. ecobee has room sensors; Nest learns your schedule. On EcoNet, neither: keep the EcoNet thermostat.
