Smart thermostats are increasing in popularity as more and more homeowners seek out ways to scale back their energy costs. These systems can be programmed to efficiently maintain the temperature in your home according to your weekly schedule. They also have the ability to memorize your preferences over time. As a result, 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 plenty of homeowners are happy with its features and overall efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–is stirring up trouble instead of supporting your HVAC system. Constant issues are driving homeowners to figure out how to disable this feature. We’ll review the problems some people are having with Seasonal Savings and include instructions for how to opt out of the feature.
Many Homeowners Claim the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Correctly
Google developed the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners enhance their energy efficiency. During peak HVAC use in the summer and winter, it should automatically adjust the thermostat to satisfy your preferences with energy efficiency. The program is designed to run without disrupting your sense of comfort, making the biggest changes when you’re away or asleep. Sadly, this isn’t the case for numerous people enrolled in the program.
Alternatively, there are accounts that the program is sporadic and irritating to use. Homeowners are concerned that the program is actually increasing their energy bills instead of shrinking 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 missing. In some 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 system. While automatic temperature corrections are a popular feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t overrule your desired settings. If a Nest won’t work with your comfort preferences, disabling the Seasonal Savings option is the correct move.
But First, Why Is This Happening?
Homeowners are noticing that the Seasonal Savings feature was running on their Nest thermostat without their approval. Why should a smart thermostat you control brush off your settings and opt in for the program? It could be because of an energy-efficiency program you subscribed to with a utility company.
These agreements help you improve your home’s energy efficiency. They can offer rebates on new accessories or special promotions for renewable energy products. But lots of people are surprised 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 override your thermostat and change the temperature. You may well be having problems with the Seasonal Savings program due to the fact that a utility company is utilizing this remote access.
But what if the feature 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 consent. We’ll share how other users have disabled 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 based on your specific Nest model, other users are concerned that Google is intentionally making it more difficult to turn off Seasonal Savings. To ensure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll include the ways other users have enjoyed success.
- Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually changing the temperature should supersede the Seasonal Savings program, but numerous users have discovered this isn’t entirely accurate. If you note your Nest persistently ignoring your changes, you’ll probably prefer to disable the feature completely.
- Disabling the feature from the Nest app: Your phone or tablet’s Nest app is supposed to have a History option and a Settings option. Google points users to their History to disable Seasonal Savings, but other people have discovered this option within Settings. Once disabled, the feature is temporarily off until the subsequent summer or winter.
- Shutting off the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also have a History option where you can disable Seasonal Savings, but many homeowners state the disable option is gone.
- Opting out before the program starts: 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 opportunity to opt out.
When Seasonal Savings is on, your Nest will display a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If your Nest is experiencing issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is absent, your trouble may be with another setting entirely.
Sometimes the Problem Isn’t Seasonal Savings but Another Setting or Program
Other features on Nest smart thermostats besides Seasonal Savings can result in unwanted temperature changes. If these settings are active during Seasonal Savings, even opting out of the program may not stop the thermostat from making adjustments. Fortunately, these settings can be switched off. You’ll also have options if the headache is a third party like your power company.
- Switching off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both offer the Auto-Schedule feature, using their capability to learn your preferences to establish the ideal schedule. Going into Settings and shutting off Auto-Schedule should prevent other automatic controls including Seasonal Savings.
- Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats will still swap to eco temperatures if you possess an auto-switching setting like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These features automatically control the temperature when the thermostat thinks that no one is home.
- Leaving the utility company’s energy agreement: Because your energy provider might be remotely controlling a Nest thermostat, negating the agreement should get rid of remote access. You can obtain the complete details of these agreements via your energy provider.
- Contacting Google support: If everything else fails, reaching out to Google’s technical support could be of help. Staff can lead you to resetting the Nest or determining the proper setting to shut off Seasonal Savings.
If the Problem Continues, Your Thermostat May Be Faulty
There’s always the chance a Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical issues or software bugs can trigger all kinds of problems, including an obnoxious Seasonal Savings program. If you think the problem is isolated to your own thermostat, a skilled technician will be able to help. After all, smart thermostats are still a valuable investment for your home’s energy efficiency.
If you want local assistance for your smart thermostat in Buffalo, call the comfort professionals at Sunbeam Service Experts. They can help you find the best way to stop an uncooperative Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.