Smart thermostats are increasing in popularity as more and more homeowners look for ways to reduce their energy bills. These systems can be programmed to efficiently maintain the temperature of your home in line with your regular schedule. They also have the means to study any preferences over time. As a result, you can cut costs on your energy bills by seeing to it that your home is only heated or cooled when you need it.
Google’s smart thermostat is the Nest, and numerous homeowners are happy with its features and overall efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–is making trouble as opposed to improving your HVAC system. Lasting issues are pushing homeowners to find out 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 setting.
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 peak HVAC use in the summer and winter, it is supposed to automatically adjust the thermostat to balance 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 sleeping. However, this isn’t the case for numerous people taking part in the program.
Alternatively, there are reports that the program is inconsistent and difficult to use. Homeowners are concerned 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 hard to find or outright absent. In several cases people have even discovered it being flipped back on after it was disabled.
Smart thermostats are intended to boost the efficiency of your HVAC system. While automatic temperature corrections are a widespread feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t ignore your preferred settings. If a Nest isn't meeting your comfort preferences, opting out of the Seasonal Savings feature is the best move.
But First, Why Is This A Problem?
Homeowners are claiming that the Seasonal Savings setting was activated on their Nest thermostat without their authorization. Why should a smart thermostat you command ignore your settings and activate the program? It may be because of an energy-efficiency agreement you signed up for with your utility company.
These agreements help you improve your home’s energy efficiency. They will sometimes come with rebates on new products or special discounts for renewable energy systems. But numerous people are surprised to find out they also grant your utility company remote access to the thermostat. If the power grid is struggling with a heavy load, the utility company can take over your thermostat and turn up the temperature. You might 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 defective or just dismissing your preferences? Whatever the reason may be, you don’t want a feature to raise your energy use without your consent. We’ll walk you through how other people have switched off the Seasonal Savings program.
How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature
A number of people have reported trouble opting out of 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 purposely making it tougher to opt out of Seasonal Savings. To make sure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll include the ways other users have had success.
- Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually changing the temperature should overrule the Seasonal Savings program, but quite a few users have observed this isn’t what's happening. If you note your Nest persistently ignoring your changes, you’ll probably prefer to turn off the feature outright.
- Opting out of the program from the Nest app: Your phone or tablet’s Nest app ought to have a History option and a Settings option. Google guides users to their History to turn off Seasonal Savings, but other users have discovered this option in Settings. Once disabled, the program is temporarily off until the next summer or winter.
- Disabling the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also provide a History option where you can disable Seasonal Savings, but many homeowners report the disable option is gone.
- Opting out before the program starts: The Seasonal Savings program is only available around summer and winter. Your smart device will receive a notification when the program is about to start, allowing you the opportunity to opt out.
When Seasonal Savings is engaged, your Nest will display a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If a Nest is struggling with issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is absent, your issue could be with yet another setting entirely.
Sometimes the Source Isn’t Seasonal Savings but Another Setting or Program
Other settings on Nest smart thermostats aside from Seasonal Savings can result in counterintuitive temperature changes. If these features are active during Seasonal Savings, even shutting off the program may not prevent the thermostat from making alterations. Luckily, these settings can be switched off. You’ll also have options if the headache is a third party like your power company.
- Shutting off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both offer the Auto-Schedule feature, using their capacity to understand your preferences to define the perfect schedule. Going into Settings and switching off Auto-Schedule should stop other automatic changes like Seasonal Savings.
- Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats will still flip to eco temperatures if you use 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 around.
- Negating the utility company’s energy agreement: Considering your energy provider may be remotely controlling your Nest thermostat, opting out of the agreement should remove their access. You can locate the full details of these agreements via your energy provider.
- Contacting Google support: If nothing else works, reaching out to Google’s technical support may be of assistance. Staff can steer you to resetting the Nest or locating the proper setting to turn off Seasonal Savings.
If the Problem Remains, Your Thermostat Could Be Faulty
There’s always the risk your Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical damage or software glitches can trigger all kinds of problems, including an inconsistent Seasonal Savings program. If you believe the problem is isolated to your own thermostat, a seasoned technician may 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 North America, call the HVAC professionals at Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning. They can help you find the easiest way to switch off a stubborn Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.