How to Deactivate Your Nest Thermostats Seasonal Savings Program

Smart thermostats are increasing in popularity as more and more homeowners look for ways to scale back their energy expenses. These systems can be programmed to efficiently maintain the temperature inside your home according to your regular schedule. They also have the capability to memorize any preferences over time. For this reason, you can cut costs on your energy bills by making sure that your HVAC system is only on when you need it.

Google’s smart thermostat is the Nest, and numerous homeowners are content with its features and overall efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–may be making trouble as opposed to helping your HVAC system. Consistent issues are forcing homeowners to figure out how to disable this feature. We’ll present the concerns some people are having with Seasonal Savings and offer instructions for how to opt out of the program.

Many Homeowners Allege the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Well

Google designed the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners improve their energy efficiency. Around the highest HVAC use in the summer and winter, it will automatically adjust the thermostat to balance your preferences with energy efficiency. The program is designed to run without disrupting your sense of comfort, implementing the biggest changes when you’re away or asleep. Sadly, this isn’t the case for lots of people taking part in the program.

Instead, there are claims that the program is contradictory and annoying to use. Homeowners are noticing that the program is even increasing their energy bills instead of lowering them. And when they attempt to disable or opt out of Seasonal Savings, they’ve found the way to do so is hard to find or just absent. In various cases people have even noted it being switched back on after it was disabled.

Smart thermostats are supposed to strengthen the efficiency of your HVAC equipment. While automatic temperature changes are a widespread feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t override your preferred settings. If a Nest refuses to accommodate your comfort preferences, shutting off the Seasonal Savings feature is the right move.

But First, Why Is This A Problem?

Homeowners are concerned that the Seasonal Savings setting was started on their Nest thermostat without their consent. Why would a smart thermostat you command ignore your settings and activate the program? It may be because of an energy-efficiency program you signed up for with a utility company.

These agreements help you increase your home’s energy efficiency. They may come with rebates on new products or special offers for renewable energy equipment. But lots of people are shocked to find out they also grant your utility company remote access to the thermostat. If the power grid is experiencing a heavy load, the utility company can override your thermostat and turn up the temperature. You may well be having problems with the Seasonal Savings program due to the fact that a utility company is using this remote access.

But what if the program is faulty or just disregarding your preferences? Whatever the reason might be, you don’t want a feature to double your energy use without your permission. We’ll walk you through how other homeowners have switched off the Seasonal Savings program.

How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature

A number of people have reported trouble disabling the Seasonal Savings feature. While the location of this setting might be different based on your specific Nest model, other users are nervous that Google is deliberately making it harder to disable Seasonal Savings. To make sure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll describe the ways other users have had success.

1. 1. Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually adjusting the temperature should outrank the Seasonal Savings program, but many users have observed this isn’t the case. If you note your Nest constantly ignoring your changes, you’ll probably want to turn off the feature completely.

2. 2. Shutting off the feature from the Nest app: Your phone or tablet’s Nest app ought to have a History option and a Settings option. Google points users to their History to disable Seasonal Savings, but other people have located this option in Settings. Once disabled, the setting is temporarily off until the following summer or winter.

3. 3. Stopping the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also have a History option where you can disable Seasonal Savings, but some homeowners claim the disable option is absent.

4. 4. Opting out before the program launches: The Seasonal Savings program is only obtainable around summer and winter. Your smart device is supposed to get a notification when the program is about to begin, allowing you the opportunity to opt out.

When Seasonal Savings is running, your Nest should feature a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If the Nest is having issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is absent, your issue might be with yet another setting entirely.

Sometimes the Issue Isn’t Seasonal Savings but Another Setting or Program

Alternative features on Nest smart thermostats apart from Seasonal Savings can result in counterintuitive temperature changes. If these settings are active during Seasonal Savings, even shutting off the program may not prevent the thermostat from making alterations. Thankfully, these settings can be turned off. You’ll also have options if the issue is a third party like your power company.

5. 5. Turning off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both give you the Auto-Schedule feature, using their ability to study your preferences to establish the ideal schedule. Going into Settings and switching off Auto-Schedule should prevent other automatic controls such as Seasonal Savings.

1. 1. Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats will still switch to eco temperatures if you use an auto-switching function like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These settings automatically regulate the temperature when the thermostat assumes that no one is around.

6. 6. Negating the utility company’s energy agreement: Because your energy provider might be remotely controlling the Nest thermostat, opting out of the agreement should take away remote access. You can locate the complete details of these agreements with your energy provider.

7. 7. Contacting Google support: If all else fails, reaching out to Google’s technical support might be of assistance. Staff can guide you to resetting the Nest or determining the appropriate setting to disable Seasonal Savings.

If the Problem Persists, Your Thermostat Could Be Defective

There’s always the chance your Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical problems or software glitches can result in all types of issues, including an aggravating Seasonal Savings program. If you think the problem is isolated to your specific thermostat, an experienced technician may be able to help. After all, smart thermostats continue to be a valuable investment for your home’s energy efficiency.

If you need local service for your smart thermostat in the U.S., contact the heating and cooling experts at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing. They can help you figure out the ideal way to disable a stubborn Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.