How to Deactivate Your Nest Thermostats Seasonal Savings Program

Smart thermostats are increasing in popularity as more and more homeowners search for ways to cut down on their energy bills. These systems can be programmed to conveniently adjust the temperature at home in line with your day-to-day schedule. They also have the ability to memorize these preferences over time. As a result, you can save money on your energy bills by ensuring that your HVAC system is only on when you need it.

Google’s smart thermostat is the Nest, and lots of homeowners are happy with its features and overall efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–might be causing trouble rather than improving your HVAC system. Frequent issues are driving homeowners to find out how to disable this feature. We’ll share the problems some people are having with Seasonal Savings and offer instructions for how to opt out of the program.

Many Homeowners Argue the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Like It Should

Google built the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners boost their energy efficiency. During peak HVAC use in the summer and winter, it should automatically adjust the thermostat to balance your preferences with energy efficiency. The program is expected to run without getting in the way of your sense of comfort, making the biggest changes when you’re away or in bed. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for many people participating in the program.

In fact, there are accounts that the program is contradictory and frustrating to use. Homeowners are noticing 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 discovered the setting to do so is hard to find or entirely absent. In many cases people have even discovered it being flipped back on after it was disabled.

Smart thermostats are meant to enhance the efficiency of your HVAC system. While automatic temperature corrections are a common feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t bypass your preferred settings. If your Nest won’t work with your comfort preferences, disabling the Seasonal Savings program is the correct move.

But First, Why Is This A Problem?

Homeowners are complaining that the Seasonal Savings setting was activated on their Nest thermostat without their approval. Why can a smart thermostat you command neglect your settings and activate the program? It might be because of an energy-efficiency agreement you signed up for with the utility company.

These agreements help you enhance your home’s energy efficiency. They may come with rebates on new accessories or special offers for renewable energy products. But lots of people are shocked 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 override your thermostat and raise the temperature. You could be having problems with the Seasonal Savings program because a utility company is taking advantage of this remote access.

But what if the feature is faulty or just disregarding your preferences? Whatever the reason is, you don’t want a feature to increase your energy use without your permission. We’ll take you step-by-step through how other users have switched 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 could be different according to your specific Nest model, other users are alarmed that Google is intentionally making it harder to opt out of Seasonal Savings. To ensure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll describe the ways other users have found success.

1. 1. Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually setting the temperature should overrule the Seasonal Savings program, but quite a few users have observed this isn’t the case. If you observe your Nest consistently reversing your changes, you’ll probably want to shut off the feature entirely.

2. 2. Opting out of the program from the Nest app: Your phone or tablet’s Nest app should have a History option and a Settings option. Google guides users to their History to turn off Seasonal Savings, but other people have found this option under Settings. Once disabled, the setting is temporarily off until the next summer or winter.

3. 3. Shutting off the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also provide a History option where you can opt out of Seasonal Savings, but some homeowners state the disable option is missing.

4. 4. Opting out before the program launches: The Seasonal Savings program is only obtainable during summer and winter. Your smart device is supposed to get a notification when the program is about to launch, giving you the time to opt out.

When Seasonal Savings is active, your Nest is supposed to show a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If the Nest is experiencing issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is absent, your issue could be with yet another setting entirely.

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

Different options on Nest smart thermostats besides Seasonal Savings can cause automatic temperature changes. If these features are active during Seasonal Savings, even opting out of the program may not keep the thermostat from making adjustments. Luckily, these settings can be turned off. You’ll also have options if the issue is a third party like the power company.

5. 5. Turning off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both offer the Auto-Schedule feature, using their ability to understand your preferences to define the ideal schedule. Going into Settings and turning off Auto-Schedule should disable other automatic changes such as Seasonal Savings.

1. 1. Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats will still switch to eco temperatures if you possess an auto-switching function like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These settings automatically change the temperature when the thermostat thinks that everyone is out of the house.

6. 6. Negating the utility company’s energy agreement: Since your energy provider could be remotely controlling a Nest thermostat, cancelling the agreement should remove remote access. You can locate the complete details of these agreements via your energy provider.

7. 7. Contacting Google support: If all else fails, calling Google’s technical support may be of assistance. Staff can guide you to resetting the Nest or finding the proper setting to turn off Seasonal Savings.

If the Problem Continues, Your Thermostat Could Be Faulty

There’s always the risk your Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical problems or software glitches can trigger all sorts of trouble, including an obnoxious Seasonal Savings program. If you suspect the problem is isolated to your own thermostat, an experienced technician might be able to help. After all, smart thermostats remain a worthwhile investment for your home’s energy efficiency.

If you’d like local assistance for your smart thermostat in the U.S., contact the comfort experts at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing. They can help you find the easiest way to disable an uncooperative Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.