Smart thermostats are growing in popularity as more and more homeowners look for ways to cut down on their energy expenses. These accessories can be programmed to automatically maintain the temperature in your home based on your day-to-day schedule. They also have the means to memorize these preferences over time. For this reason, you can make big savings on your energy bills by seeing to it that your HVAC system is only on when you need it.
Google’s smart thermostat is the Nest, and many homeowners are satisfied with its features and general efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–might be stirring up trouble rather than improving your HVAC system. Persistent issues are driving homeowners to find out how to switch off this feature. We’ll present the problems some people are having with Seasonal Savings and provide instructions for how to opt out of the feature.
Many Homeowners Argue the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Correctly
Google designed the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners increase their energy efficiency. Around the highest 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 supposed to run without getting in the way of your sense of comfort, implementing the biggest changes when you’re away or sleeping. However, this isn’t the case for numerous people enrolled in the program.
Instead, there are accounts that the program is contradictory and frustrating to use. Homeowners are noticing 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 just absent. In several cases people have even noted it being turned back on after it was disabled.
Smart thermostats are designed to improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling. While automatic temperature corrections are a widespread feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t bypass your favored settings. If the Nest won’t work with your comfort preferences, shutting off the Seasonal Savings option is the right move.
But First, Why Is This Going On?
Homeowners are complaining that the Seasonal Savings setting was activated on their Nest thermostat without their consent. Why should a smart thermostat you operate dismiss your settings and opt in for the program? It may be because of an energy-efficiency agreement you subscribed to with a utility company.
These agreements help you increase your home’s energy efficiency. They can include rebates on new accessories or special promotions for renewable energy equipment. But numerous people are shocked to hear they also allow your utility company remote access to your thermostat. If the power grid is struggling with a heavy load, the utility company can override your thermostat and turn up the temperature. You may well 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 defective or just ignoring your preferences? Whatever the reason could be, you don’t want a feature to double your energy use without your consent. We’ll review how other people have disabled the Seasonal Savings program.
How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature
A number of people have documented trouble shutting off the Seasonal Savings feature. While the location of this setting might be different depending on your specific Nest model, other users are worried that Google is deliberately making it harder to opt out of Seasonal Savings. To ensure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll list the ways other users have had success.
- Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually adjusting the temperature should outrank the Seasonal Savings program, but many users have found this isn’t entirely accurate. If you notice your Nest constantly ignoring your changes, you’ll probably want to turn off the feature entirely.
- Disabling the program 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 disable Seasonal Savings, but other homeowners have found this option in Settings. Once disabled, the feature is temporarily off until the subsequent summer or winter.
- Disabling the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also have a History option where you can disable Seasonal Savings, but many homeowners report the disable option is missing.
- Opting out before the program launches: The Seasonal Savings program is only accessible during summer and winter. Your smart device will get a notification when the program is about to start, offering you the time to opt out.
When Seasonal Savings is engaged, your Nest will show a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If the Nest is struggling with issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is missing, your issue might be with yet another setting entirely.
Sometimes the Source Isn’t Seasonal Savings but a Different Setting or Program
Different features on Nest smart thermostats aside from Seasonal Savings can cause counterintuitive temperature changes. If these options are active during Seasonal Savings, even disabling the program may not deter the thermostat from making changes. Luckily, these settings can be turned off. You’ll also have options if the headache is a third party like the power company.
- Turning off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both give you the Auto-Schedule feature, using their ability to learn your preferences to define the best possible schedule. Going into Settings and shutting off Auto-Schedule should stop other automatic adjustments including Seasonal Savings.
- Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats can still switch to eco temperatures if you use an auto-switching setting like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These functions automatically regulate the temperature when the thermostat detects that everyone is out of the house.
- Leaving the utility company’s energy agreement: Since your energy provider may be remotely controlling a Nest thermostat, cancelling the agreement should get rid of their access. You can locate the complete details of these agreements with your energy provider.
- Contacting Google support: If all else fails, reaching out to Google’s technical support might be of assistance. Staff can steer you to resetting the Nest or locating the appropriate setting to turn off Seasonal Savings.
If the Problem Continues, Your Thermostat Could Be Faulty
There’s always the chance the Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical problems or software glitches can result in all kinds of trouble, including an aggravating Seasonal Savings program. If you suspect the problem is isolated to your specific thermostat, a seasoned technician might be able to help. After all, smart thermostats continue to be a worthwhile investment for your home’s energy efficiency.
If you’d like local assistance for your smart thermostat in Pierre, call the heating and cooling professionals at Peitz Service Experts. They can help you find the easiest way to shut off an uncooperative Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.