Smart thermostats are gaining in popularity as more and more homeowners search for ways to reduce their energy bills. These devices can be programmed to conveniently maintain the temperature at home in line with your regular schedule. They also have the capability to learn your preferences over time. For this reason, 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 many homeowners are delighted with its features and all-around efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–could be causing trouble as opposed to helping your HVAC system. Persistent issues are forcing homeowners to look for how to disable this feature. We’ll share the trouble some people are having with Seasonal Savings and provide instructions for how to opt out of the setting.
Many Homeowners Allege the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Well
Google built the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners enhance their energy efficiency. During peak HVAC use in the summer and winter, it can automatically adjust the thermostat to match your preferences with energy efficiency. The program is supposed to run without interrupting your sense of comfort, making the biggest changes when you’re away or sleeping. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for numerous people enrolled in the program.
Alternatively, there are accounts that the program is sporadic and annoying to use. Homeowners are noticing that the program is actually increasing their energy bills instead of reducing them. And when they try to disable or opt out of Seasonal Savings, they’ve discovered the setting to do so is difficult to find or just missing. In many cases people have even noticed it being turned back on after it was disabled.
Smart thermostats are designed to boost the efficiency of your heating and cooling. While automatic temperature corrections are a common feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t override your preferred settings. If a Nest won’t work with your comfort preferences, shutting off the Seasonal Savings program is the correct move.
But First, Why Is This A Problem?
Homeowners are concerned that the Seasonal Savings setting was running on their Nest thermostat without their permission. Why can a smart thermostat you control brush off your settings and opt in for the program? It might be because of an energy-efficiency agreement you signed up for with your utility company.
These agreements help you boost your home’s energy efficiency. They will sometimes offer rebates on new equipment or special discounts for renewable energy equipment. But numerous people are shocked to find out they also allow your utility company remote access to the thermostat. If the power grid is struggling with a heavy load, the utility company can control your thermostat and adjust the temperature. You may be having trouble with the Seasonal Savings program because a utility company is taking advantage of this remote access.
But what if the setting 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 users have switched off the Seasonal Savings program.
How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature
A number of people have experienced trouble opting out of the Seasonal Savings feature. While the location of this setting might be different according to your specific Nest model, other users are concerned that Google is purposely making it tougher to turn off Seasonal Savings. To make sure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll describe the ways other users have had success.
- Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually changing the temperature should outrank the Seasonal Savings program, but quite a few users have observed this isn’t the case. If you see your Nest persistently reversing your changes, you’ll probably want to shut off the feature completely.
- 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 shut off Seasonal Savings, but other users have found this option in Settings. Once disabled, the program is temporarily off until the next summer or winter.
- Shutting off the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also provide a History option where you can disable Seasonal Savings, but many homeowners state 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 is supposed to receive a notification when the program is about to start, allowing you the chance to opt out.
When Seasonal Savings is live, your Nest should feature a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If the Nest is struggling with issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is missing, your trouble may be with another setting entirely.
Sometimes the Source Isn’t Seasonal Savings but Another Setting or Program
Alternative options on Nest smart thermostats besides Seasonal Savings can result in unwanted temperature changes. If these features are active during Seasonal Savings, even shutting off the program may not deter the thermostat from making changes. Fortunately, these settings can be switched off. You’ll also have options if the issue is a third party like a power company.
- Turning off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both give you the Auto-Schedule feature, using their capacity to understand your preferences to establish the perfect schedule. Going into Settings and shutting off Auto-Schedule should disable other automatic controls such as Seasonal Savings.
- Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats can still swap to eco temperatures if you possess an auto-switching feature like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These settings automatically regulate the temperature when the thermostat assumes that no one is around.
- Leaving the utility company’s energy agreement: Since your energy provider might be remotely controlling a Nest thermostat, negating the agreement should get rid of remote access. You can locate the complete details of these agreements through your energy provider.
- Calling Google support: If nothing else works, reaching out to Google’s technical support may be of service. Staff can steer you to resetting the Nest or finding the correct setting to switch off Seasonal Savings.
If the Problem Remains, Your Thermostat May Be Malfunctioning
There’s always the risk your Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical issues or software bugs can trigger all kinds of trouble, including an obnoxious Seasonal Savings program. If you believe the problem is isolated to your personal thermostat, an experienced technician might be able to help. After all, smart thermostats remain a beneficial investment for your home’s energy efficiency.
If you need local service for your smart thermostat in Tempe, get in touch with the comfort experts at Orangutan Home Services. They can help you determine the ideal way to switch off an uncooperative Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.