Smart thermostats are gaining in popularity as more and more homeowners seek out ways to cut down on their energy expenses. These devices can be programmed to conveniently regulate the temperature of your home in line with your day-to-day schedule. They also have the ability to learn comfort preferences over time. As a result, you can save money on your energy bills by seeing to it that your comfort system is only running when you need it.
Google’s smart thermostat is the Nest, and plenty of homeowners are pleased with its features and general efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–could be making trouble instead of improving your HVAC system. Persistent issues are forcing homeowners to figure out how to disable this feature. We’ll review the issues some people are having with Seasonal Savings and include instructions for how to opt out of the program.
Many Homeowners Argue the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Well
Google built the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners increase their energy efficiency. For peak HVAC use in the summer and winter, it is supposed to automatically adjust the thermostat to match your preferences with energy efficiency. The program is designed to run without disrupting your sense of comfort, setting up the biggest changes when you’re away or in bed. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for numerous people enrolled in the program.
Alternatively, there are claims that the program is contradictory and difficult to use. Homeowners are noticing that the program is even increasing their energy bills instead of shrinking them. And when they decide to disable or opt out of Seasonal Savings, they’ve noticed the option to do so is difficult to find or downright missing. In some cases people have even observed it being flipped back on after it was disabled.
Smart thermostats are designed to enhance the efficiency of your heating and cooling. While automatic temperature adjustments are a popular feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t overrule your preferred settings. If a Nest isn't meeting your comfort preferences, shutting off the Seasonal Savings program is the correct move.
But First, Why Is This A Problem?
Homeowners are complaining that the Seasonal Savings setting was started on their Nest thermostat without their consent. Why would a smart thermostat you operate neglect your settings and activate the program? It might be because of an energy-efficiency agreement you registered for with your utility company.
These agreements help you enhance your home’s energy efficiency. They can come with rebates on new accessories or special promotions for renewable energy products. But numerous people are surprised to hear they also permit your utility company remote access to your thermostat. If the power grid is under a heavy load, the utility company can take control of your thermostat and turn up the temperature. You may be having trouble with the Seasonal Savings program because a utility company is making use of this remote access.
But what if the feature is defective or just ignoring your preferences? Whatever the reason could be, you don’t want a feature to double your energy use without your approval. We’ll explain how other people have switched off the Seasonal Savings program.
How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature
A number of people have reported trouble opting out of the Seasonal Savings feature. While the location of this setting might be different depending on your specific Nest model, other users are worried that Google is deliberately making it more difficult to disable Seasonal Savings. To ensure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll describe the ways other users have enjoyed success.
- Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually changing the temperature should override the Seasonal Savings program, but many users have observed this isn’t entirely accurate. If you see your Nest persistently ignoring your changes, you’ll probably opt to turn off the feature completely.
- Shutting off the setting from the Nest app: Your phone or tablet’s Nest app ought to have a History option and a Settings option. Google directs users to their History to disable Seasonal Savings, but other users have discovered this option in Settings. Once disabled, the program is temporarily off until the subsequent summer or winter.
- Stopping 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 claim the disable option is not there.
- Opting out before the program begins: The Seasonal Savings program is only accessible during summer and winter. Your smart device should receive a notification when the program is about to launch, offering you the chance to opt out.
When Seasonal Savings is active, your Nest is supposed to show a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If a Nest is struggling with issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is not visible, your predicament may be with another setting entirely.
Sometimes the Problem Isn’t Seasonal Savings but Another Setting or Program
Alternative options on Nest smart thermostats apart from Seasonal Savings can lead to automatic temperature changes. If these settings are active during Seasonal Savings, even shutting off the program may not stop the thermostat from making changes. Thankfully, these settings can be switched off. You’ll also have options if the headache is a third party like your power company.
- Switching off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both offer the Auto-Schedule feature, using their capability to learn your preferences to establish the perfect schedule. Going into Settings and switching off Auto-Schedule should disable other automatic controls such as Seasonal Savings.
- Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats may still swap to eco temperatures if you have an auto-switching function like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These functions automatically adjust the temperature when the thermostat assumes that the house is empty.
- Negating the utility company’s energy agreement: Because your energy provider could be remotely controlling your Nest thermostat, opting out of the agreement should remove remote access. You can obtain the full details of these agreements via your energy provider.
- Reaching out to Google support: If nothing else works, reaching out to Google’s technical support could be of help. Staff can steer you to resetting the Nest or finding the proper setting to switch off Seasonal Savings.
If the Problem Continues, Your Thermostat May Be Malfunctioning
There’s always the chance the Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical damage or software glitches can result in all types of trouble, including an obnoxious Seasonal Savings program. If you believe the problem is isolated to your specific thermostat, an experienced technician may be able to help. After all, smart thermostats are still a valuable investment for your home’s energy efficiency.
If you’d like local support for your smart thermostat in the Wasatch Front region, get in touch with the HVAC specialists at Barlow Service Experts. They can help you find out the easiest way to switch off a stubborn Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.