Smart thermostats are growing in popularity as more and more homeowners seek out ways to lower their energy costs. These devices can be programmed to automatically regulate the temperature at home in line with your daily schedule. They also have the capacity to memorize any preferences over time. Subsequently, you can make big savings on your energy bills by ensuring that your home is only heated or cooled when you need it.
Google’s smart thermostat is the Nest, and plenty of homeowners are content with its features and overall efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–may be stirring up trouble rather than improving your HVAC system. Consistent issues are pushing homeowners to look for how to disable this feature. We’ll review the trouble some people are having with Seasonal Savings and include instructions for how to opt out of the feature.
Many Homeowners Argue the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Well
Google developed the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners enhance their energy efficiency. For maximum HVAC use in the summer and winter, it will automatically adjust the thermostat to match your preferences with energy efficiency. The program is expected to run without disrupting your sense of comfort, implementing the biggest changes when you’re away or sleeping. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for lots of people participating in the program.
Instead, there are claims that the program is contradictory and frustrating to use. Homeowners are concerned that the program is even increasing their energy bills instead of reducing them. And when they attempt to disable or opt out of Seasonal Savings, they’ve noticed the way to do so is tough to find or just missing. In many cases people have even discovered it being turned back on after it was disabled.
Smart thermostats are meant to boost the efficiency of your heating and cooling. While automatic temperature corrections are a customary feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t overrule your desired settings. If the Nest refuses to accommodate your comfort preferences, disabling the Seasonal Savings option is the best move.
But First, Why Is This Happening?
Homeowners are complaining that the Seasonal Savings feature was running on their Nest thermostat without their approval. Why can a smart thermostat you command neglect your settings and activate the program? It may be because of an energy-efficiency program you subscribed to with the utility company.
These agreements help you raise your home’s energy efficiency. They can come with rebates on new accessories or special offers for renewable energy products. But numerous people are alarmed to hear they also grant your utility company remote access to your thermostat. If the power grid is under a heavy load, the utility company can take over your thermostat and turn up the temperature. You could be having issues with the Seasonal Savings program due to the fact that a utility company is utilizing this remote access.
But what if the program is faulty or just disregarding your preferences? Whatever the reason could be, you don’t want a feature to raise your energy use without your consent. We’ll review how other users have shut off the Seasonal Savings program.
How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature
A number of people have documented trouble shutting off the Seasonal Savings feature. While the location of this setting may be different based on your specific Nest model, other users are concerned that Google is deliberately making it harder to opt out of Seasonal Savings. To ensure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll include the ways other users have found success.
- Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually changing the temperature should overrule the Seasonal Savings program, but quite a few users have noticed this isn’t the case. If you note your Nest constantly ignoring your changes, you’ll probably prefer to turn off the feature entirely.
- Disabling the setting from the Nest app: Your phone or tablet’s Nest app should have a History option and a Settings option. Google directs users to their History to shut off Seasonal Savings, but other users have found this option within Settings. Once disabled, the setting is temporarily off until the following summer or winter.
- Disabling the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also feature a History option where you can opt out of Seasonal Savings, but many homeowners report the disable option is absent.
- Opting out before the program launches: The Seasonal Savings program is only obtainable during summer and winter. Your smart device should get a notification when the program is about to launch, offering you the time to opt out.
When Seasonal Savings is live, your Nest should display a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If a Nest is struggling with issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is absent, your problem could be with a different setting entirely.
Sometimes the Issue Isn’t Seasonal Savings but a Different Setting or Program
Different settings on Nest smart thermostats aside from Seasonal Savings can result in counterintuitive temperature changes. If these features are active during Seasonal Savings, even disabling the program may not stop the thermostat from making changes. Luckily, these settings can be switched off. You’ll also have options if the problem is a third party like the power company.
- Switching off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both extend the Auto-Schedule feature, using their ability to study your preferences to define the perfect schedule. Going into Settings and switching off Auto-Schedule should prevent other automatic changes like Seasonal Savings.
- Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats might still flip to eco temperatures if you possess an auto-switching setting like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These features automatically adjust the temperature when the thermostat detects that the house is empty.
- Leaving the utility company’s energy agreement: Considering your energy provider may be remotely controlling your Nest thermostat, nullifying the agreement should remove remote access. You can obtain the full details of these agreements from your energy provider.
- Calling Google support: If all else fails, calling Google’s technical support could be of assistance. Staff can direct you to resetting the Nest or locating the proper setting to disable Seasonal Savings.
If the Problem Persists, Your Thermostat Might Be Malfunctioning
There’s always the risk the Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical damage or software glitches can result in all sorts of issues, including an obnoxious Seasonal Savings program. If you think the problem is isolated to your own thermostat, an experienced technician may be able to help. After all, smart thermostats continue to be a worthwhile investment for your home’s energy efficiency.
If you prefer local service for your smart thermostat in Longmont, get in touch with the HVAC experts at Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning. They can help you find the ideal way to shut off a stubborn Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.