How to Turn Off Your Nest Thermostats Seasonal Savings Program

Smart thermostats are gaining in popularity as more and more homeowners look for ways to reduce their energy bills. These accessories can be programmed to automatically maintain the temperature at home based on your regular schedule. They also have the capacity to memorize comfort preferences over time. Subsequently, you can save money 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 lots of homeowners are satisfied with its features and overall efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–might be stirring up trouble as opposed to supporting your HVAC system. Persistent issues are pushing homeowners to research how to shut off this feature. We’ll present the problems some people are having with Seasonal Savings and offer instructions for how to opt out of the feature.

Many Homeowners Argue the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Well

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

Instead, there are reports that the program is inconsistent and frustrating to use. Homeowners are complaining that the program is actually increasing their energy bills instead of lowering them. And when they attempt to disable or opt out of Seasonal Savings, they’ve noticed the setting to do so is difficult to find or entirely absent. In many cases people have even discovered it being turned back on after it was disabled.

Smart thermostats are meant to increase the efficiency of your heating and cooling. While automatic temperature corrections are a widespread feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t bypass your desired settings. If a Nest refuses to accommodate your comfort preferences, disabling the Seasonal Savings feature is the right move.

But First, Why Is This Happening?

Homeowners are noticing that the Seasonal Savings feature was activated on their Nest thermostat without their authorization. Why can a smart thermostat you operate ignore your settings and activate the program? It could be because of an energy-efficiency agreement you signed up for with your utility company.

These agreements help you increase your home’s energy efficiency. They will sometimes offer rebates on new equipment or special offers for renewable energy systems. But most people are shocked to learn they also allow your utility company remote access to your thermostat. If the power grid is experiencing a heavy load, the utility company can override your thermostat and change the temperature. You could be having trouble with the Seasonal Savings program due to the fact that a utility company is making use of this remote access.

But what if the setting is faulty or just ignoring your preferences? Whatever the reason is, you don’t want a feature to raise your energy use without your consent. We’ll review how other homeowners have opted out of the Seasonal Savings program.

How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature

A number of people have documented 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 deliberately making it more difficult to opt out of Seasonal Savings. To ensure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll include the ways other users have found success.

1. 1. Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually adjusting the temperature should supersede the Seasonal Savings program, but quite a few users have observed this isn’t the case. If you notice your Nest repeatedly reversing your changes, you’ll probably want to disable the feature entirely.

2. 2. Shutting off the program from the Nest app: Your phone or tablet’s Nest app ought to have a History option and a Settings option. Google points users to their History to shut off Seasonal Savings, but other people have discovered this option within Settings. Once disabled, the program is temporarily off until the subsequent summer or winter.

3. 3. Disabling 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 not there.

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

When Seasonal Savings is engaged, your Nest will feature a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If the Nest is experiencing issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is absent, your problem could be with another setting entirely.

Sometimes the Source Isn’t Seasonal Savings but Another Setting or Program

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

5. 5. Turning off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both extend the Auto-Schedule feature, using their capability to learn your preferences to set the best possible schedule. Going into Settings and switching off Auto-Schedule should prevent other automatic changes including 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 functions automatically regulate the temperature when the thermostat thinks that everyone is out of the house.

6. 6. Leaving the utility company’s energy agreement: Because your energy provider could be remotely controlling your Nest thermostat, nullifying the agreement should take away remote access. You can locate the complete details of these agreements through your energy provider.

7. 7. Reaching out to Google support: If nothing else works, contacting Google’s technical support could be of assistance. Staff can lead you to resetting the Nest or finding the appropriate setting to disable Seasonal Savings.

If the Problem Persists, Your Thermostat Might Be Faulty

There’s always the chance the Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical issues or software glitches can result in all kinds of issues, including an aggravating Seasonal Savings program. If you suspect the problem is isolated to your personal thermostat, an experienced technician may be able to help. After all, smart thermostats continue to be a worthwhile investment for your home’s energy efficiency.

If you prefer local support for your smart thermostat in the U.S., get in touch with the heating and cooling professionals at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing. They can help you find the ideal way to disable an uncooperative Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.