Smart thermostats are growing in popularity as more and more homeowners search for ways to reduce their energy bills. These systems can be programmed to efficiently adjust the temperature at home based on your daily schedule. They also have the ability to memorize these preferences over time. As a result, you can make big savings on your energy bills by making sure that your home is only heated or cooled when you need it.
Google’s smart thermostat is the Nest, and lots of homeowners are pleased with its features and all-around efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–might be making trouble instead of assisting your HVAC system. Constant issues are forcing homeowners to learn how to disable this feature. We’ll present the concerns some people are having with Seasonal Savings and provide instructions for how to opt out of the setting.
Many Homeowners Say the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Like It Should
Google developed the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners improve their energy efficiency. During maximum HVAC use in the summer and winter, it should automatically adjust the thermostat to match your preferences with energy efficiency. The program is supposed to run without disrupting your sense of comfort, making the biggest changes when you’re away or asleep. However, this isn’t the case for many people participating in the program.
Instead, 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 decide to disable or opt out of Seasonal Savings, they’ve discovered the way to do so is difficult to find or just absent. In several cases people have even noted it being switched back on after it was disabled.
Smart thermostats are expected to increase the efficiency of your HVAC equipment. While automatic temperature changes are a popular feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t bypass your preferred 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 Going On?
Homeowners are concerned that the Seasonal Savings program was running on their Nest thermostat without their approval. Why should a smart thermostat you control neglect your settings and opt in for the program? It may be because of an energy-efficiency agreement you registered for with the utility company.
These agreements help you enhance your home’s energy efficiency. They will sometimes come with rebates on new products or special promotions for renewable energy equipment. But lots of people are shocked to hear they also allow your utility company remote access to your thermostat. If the power grid is experiencing a heavy load, the utility company can control your thermostat and adjust the temperature. You may well be having issues 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 disregarding your preferences? Whatever the reason may be, you don’t want a feature to increase your energy use without your permission. We’ll take you step-by-step through how other homeowners have turned off the Seasonal Savings program.
How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature
A number of people have reported trouble disabling the Seasonal Savings feature. While the location of this setting could be different depending on your specific Nest model, other users are alarmed that Google is intentionally making it more difficult to opt out of Seasonal Savings. To make sure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll describe the ways other users have enjoyed 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 observe your Nest constantly ignoring your changes, you’ll probably want to turn off the feature completely.
- Opting out of the feature from the Nest app: Your phone or tablet’s Nest app should have a History option and a Settings option. Google directs users to their History to switch off Seasonal Savings, but other homeowners have discovered this option in Settings. Once disabled, the setting is temporarily off until the subsequent summer or winter.
- Disabling the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also feature a History option where you can opt out of Seasonal Savings, but some homeowners claim the disable option is not there.
- Opting out before the program starts: The Seasonal Savings program is only available in summer and winter. Your smart device should get a notification when the program is about to launch, giving you the chance to opt out.
When Seasonal Savings is active, your Nest will display a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If your Nest is experiencing issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is missing, your issue could be with a different setting entirely.
Sometimes the Issue Isn’t Seasonal Savings but Another Setting or Program
Additional settings on Nest smart thermostats apart from Seasonal Savings can lead to unwanted temperature changes. If these settings are active during Seasonal Savings, even disabling the program may not deter 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 a power company.
- Switching off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both offer the Auto-Schedule feature, using their ability to study your preferences to set the ideal schedule. Going into Settings and shutting off Auto-Schedule should disable other automatic changes including Seasonal Savings.
- Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats will still flip to eco temperatures if you have an auto-switching setting like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These functions automatically change the temperature when the thermostat assumes that the house is empty.
- Negating the utility company’s energy agreement: Since your energy provider may be remotely controlling the Nest thermostat, cancelling the agreement should take away their access. You can obtain the complete details of these agreements from your energy provider.
- Contacting Google support: If nothing else works, calling Google’s technical support could be of assistance. Staff can steer you to resetting the Nest or locating the correct setting to shut off Seasonal Savings.
If the Problem Continues, Your Thermostat May Be Malfunctioning
There’s always the chance a Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical issues or software glitches can result in all kinds 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 service for your smart thermostat in Jackson, get in touch with the heating and cooling professionals at Comfortech Service Experts . They can help you find the ideal way to stop a stubborn Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.