Smart thermostats are growing in popularity as more and more homeowners seek out ways to cut down on their energy bills. These accessories can be programmed to conveniently maintain the temperature at home according to your weekly schedule. They also have the capacity to study any preferences over time. For this reason, you can make big savings on your energy bills by ensuring that your comfort system is only running when you need it.
Google’s smart thermostat is the Nest, and lots of homeowners are delighted with its features and all-around efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–is making trouble instead of assisting your HVAC system. Lasting issues are forcing homeowners to learn how to switch off this feature. We’ll review the concerns some people are having with Seasonal Savings and offer instructions for how to opt out of the program.
Many Homeowners Say the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Well
Google built 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 match your preferences with energy efficiency. The program is intended to run without disrupting your sense of comfort, setting up the biggest changes when you’re away or asleep. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for many people enrolled in the program.
Alternatively, there are accounts that the program is inconsistent and irritating to use. Homeowners are concerned that the program is even increasing their energy bills instead of lowering them. And when they decide to disable or opt out of Seasonal Savings, they’ve noticed the way to do so is difficult to find or downright absent. In many cases people have even discovered it being flipped back on after it was disabled.
Smart thermostats are meant to strengthen the efficiency of your HVAC system. While automatic temperature adjustments are a common feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t overrule your preferred settings. If a Nest refuses to accommodate your comfort preferences, shutting off the Seasonal Savings program is the best move.
But First, Why Is This Going On?
Homeowners are concerned that the Seasonal Savings setting was activated on their Nest thermostat without their consent. Why should a smart thermostat you command neglect your settings and opt in for the program? It may be because of an energy-efficiency program you subscribed to with your utility company.
These agreements help you increase your home’s energy efficiency. They can feature rebates on new equipment or special offers for renewable energy products. But many people are surprised 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 change the temperature. You may be having problems with the Seasonal Savings program due to the fact that a utility company is taking advantage of this remote access.
But what if the setting is malfunctioning or just ignoring your preferences? Whatever the reason might be, you don’t want a feature to increase your energy use without your consent. We’ll take you step-by-step through how other people have disabled the Seasonal Savings program.
How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature
A number of people have disclosed trouble disabling the Seasonal Savings feature. While the location of this setting may be different based on your specific Nest model, other users are nervous that Google is deliberately making it more difficult to turn off Seasonal Savings. To make sure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll list the ways other users have enjoyed success.
- Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually setting the temperature should supersede the Seasonal Savings program, but many users have noticed this isn’t what's happening. If you see your Nest consistently ignoring your changes, you’ll probably want to turn off the feature completely.
- 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 turn off Seasonal Savings, but other homeowners have located this option under Settings. Once disabled, the program is temporarily off until the next 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 claim the disable option is gone.
- Opting out before the program begins: The Seasonal Savings program is only obtainable around summer and winter. Your smart device will get a notification when the program is about to start, allowing you the time to opt out.
When Seasonal Savings is running, your Nest will feature a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If your Nest is experiencing issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is absent, your predicament might be with yet another setting entirely.
Sometimes the Issue Isn’t Seasonal Savings but a Different Setting or Program
Additional features on Nest smart thermostats besides Seasonal Savings can lead to counterintuitive temperature changes. If these features are active during Seasonal Savings, even opting out of the program may not stop the thermostat from making alterations. Fortunately, these settings can be disabled. You’ll also have options if the headache is a third party like a power company.
- Shutting off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both give you the Auto-Schedule feature, using their capability to learn your preferences to set the perfect schedule. Going into Settings and shutting off Auto-Schedule should stop other automatic adjustments including Seasonal Savings.
- Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats can still flip to eco temperatures if you have an auto-switching feature like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These features automatically change the temperature when the thermostat detects that everyone is out of the house.
- Leaving the utility company’s energy agreement: Since your energy provider could be remotely controlling a Nest thermostat, opting out of the agreement should get rid of their access. You can obtain the full details of these agreements with your energy provider.
- Calling Google support: If nothing else works, reaching out to Google’s technical support could be of service. Staff can steer you to resetting the Nest or finding the correct setting to turn off Seasonal Savings.
If the Problem Continues, Your Thermostat Could Be Defective
There’s always the possibility a Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical problems or software glitches can trigger all sorts of problems, including an inconsistent Seasonal Savings program. If you think the problem is isolated to your own thermostat, a knowledgeable technician might 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 Kansas City, get in touch with the HVAC professionals at Neal Harris Service Experts. They can help you figure out the easiest way to disable an uncooperative Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.