Smart thermostats are growing in popularity as more and more homeowners look for ways to scale back their energy bills. These systems can be programmed to efficiently maintain the temperature in your home in line with your day-to-day schedule. They also have the capability to memorize comfort preferences over time. Subsequently, you can spend less 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 numerous homeowners are pleased with its features and overall efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–could be stirring up trouble instead of assisting your HVAC system. Frequent issues are pushing homeowners to research how to shut off this feature. We’ll share the problems some people are having with Seasonal Savings and offer instructions for how to opt out of the feature.
Many Homeowners Say the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Well
Google designed the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners increase their energy efficiency. For the highest HVAC use in the summer and winter, it is supposed to automatically adjust the thermostat to satisfy your preferences with energy efficiency. The program is expected to run without getting in the way of your sense of comfort, implementing the biggest changes when you’re away or sleeping. However, this isn’t the case for numerous 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 actually increasing their energy bills instead of lowering them. And when they attempt to disable or opt out of Seasonal Savings, they’ve found the setting to do so is tough to find or downright missing. In various cases people have even discovered it being switched back on after it was disabled.
Smart thermostats are supposed to boost the efficiency of your HVAC equipment. While automatic temperature changes are a customary feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t override your preferred settings. If your Nest won’t work with your comfort preferences, shutting off the Seasonal Savings feature is the correct move.
But First, Why Is This Happening?
Homeowners are noticing that the Seasonal Savings feature was activated on their Nest thermostat without their consent. Why would a smart thermostat you control dismiss your settings and enroll in the program? It could be because of an energy-efficiency program you registered for with the utility company.
These agreements help you increase your home’s energy efficiency. They will sometimes include rebates on new accessories or special offers for renewable energy equipment. But lots of people are alarmed to find out they also grant your utility company remote access to the thermostat. If the power grid is under a heavy load, the utility company can take over your thermostat and change the temperature. You might be having trouble with the Seasonal Savings program because a utility company is taking advantage of this remote access.
But what if the program is defective or just dismissing your preferences? Whatever the reason might be, you don’t want a feature to raise your energy use without your approval. We’ll share how other people have turned off the Seasonal Savings program.
How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature
A number of people have documented trouble disabling the Seasonal Savings feature. While the location of this setting may be different according to your specific Nest model, other users are concerned that Google is intentionally making it tougher to opt out of Seasonal Savings. To make sure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll list the ways other users have had success.
- Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually setting the temperature should override the Seasonal Savings program, but numerous users have noticed this isn’t what's happening. If you notice your Nest constantly reversing your changes, you’ll probably want to shut off the feature entirely.
- Opting out of the feature 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 switch off Seasonal Savings, but other users have found this option within Settings. Once disabled, the feature is temporarily off until the subsequent summer or winter.
- Stopping the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also provide a History option where you can turn off Seasonal Savings, but some homeowners state the disable option is missing.
- Opting out before the program launches: The Seasonal Savings program is only obtainable during summer and winter. Your smart device is supposed to be sent a notification when the program is about to launch, offering you the time to opt out.
When Seasonal Savings is running, your Nest will show a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If the Nest is having issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is missing, your issue could be with another setting entirely.
Sometimes the Problem Isn’t Seasonal Savings but Another Setting or Program
Alternative settings on Nest smart thermostats besides Seasonal Savings can result in automatic temperature changes. If these features are active during Seasonal Savings, even opting out of the program may not deter the thermostat from making adjustments. Thankfully, these settings can be turned off. You’ll also have options if the problem is a third party like your power company.
- Switching off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both give you the Auto-Schedule feature, using their capability to understand your preferences to define the ideal schedule. Going into Settings and turning off Auto-Schedule should prevent other automatic controls like Seasonal Savings.
- Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats might still switch to eco temperatures if you have an auto-switching feature like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These settings automatically regulate the temperature when the thermostat assumes that everyone is out of the house.
- Leaving the utility company’s energy agreement: Because your energy provider might be remotely controlling your Nest thermostat, nullifying the agreement should remove unwanted access. You can obtain the full details of these agreements from your energy provider.
- Calling Google support: If all else fails, contacting Google’s technical support could be of assistance. Staff can lead you to resetting the Nest or locating the appropriate setting to switch off Seasonal Savings.
If the Problem Persists, Your Thermostat Could Be Malfunctioning
There’s always the chance the Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical issues or software bugs can cause all kinds of trouble, including an aggravating Seasonal Savings program. If you think the problem is isolated to your own thermostat, a knowledgeable technician will be able to help. After all, smart thermostats continue to be a worthwhile investment for your home’s energy efficiency.
If you prefer local assistance for your smart thermostat in Champaign, call the comfort professionals at Chief/Bauer Service Experts. They can help you find the ideal way to stop a stubborn Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.