Smart thermostats are growing in popularity as more and more homeowners seek out ways to reduce their energy expenses. These devices can be programmed to efficiently adjust the temperature at home based on your day-to-day schedule. They also have the capacity to study comfort preferences over time. As a result, 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 delighted with its features and all-around efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–could be causing trouble as opposed to assisting your HVAC system. Constant issues are pushing homeowners to look for how to disable 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 Say the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Correctly
Google built the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners improve their energy efficiency. During peak HVAC use in the summer and winter, it should automatically adjust the thermostat to match your preferences with energy efficiency. The program is expected to run without disrupting your sense of comfort, implementing the biggest changes when you’re away or asleep. However, this isn’t the case for lots of people enrolled in the program.
Instead, there are claims that the program is sporadic and difficult to use. Homeowners are concerned that the program is even increasing their energy bills instead of lowering them. And when they attempt to disable or opt out of Seasonal Savings, they’ve discovered the way to do so is hard to find or downright absent. In many cases people have even observed it being turned back on after it was disabled.
Smart thermostats are expected to increase the efficiency of your HVAC equipment. While automatic temperature changes are a widespread feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t ignore your favored settings. If a Nest won’t work with your comfort preferences, disabling the Seasonal Savings feature is the correct move.
But First, Why Is This A Problem?
Homeowners are complaining that the Seasonal Savings program was activated on their Nest thermostat without their authorization. Why can a smart thermostat you command overlook your settings and activate the program? It might be because of an energy-efficiency agreement you subscribed to with the utility company.
These agreements help you boost your home’s energy efficiency. They will sometimes offer rebates on new equipment or special promotions for renewable energy equipment. But lots of people are surprised 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 take control of your thermostat and adjust the temperature. You could be having problems with the Seasonal Savings program because a utility company is using this remote access.
But what if the setting is malfunctioning or just ignoring your preferences? Whatever the reason might be, you don’t want a feature to increase your energy use without your approval. We’ll share how other people have opted out of the Seasonal Savings program.
How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature
A number of people have disclosed trouble disabling the Seasonal Savings feature. While the location of this setting may be different according to your specific Nest model, other users are nervous that Google is purposely 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 found success.
- Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually changing the temperature should outrank the Seasonal Savings program, but many users have found this isn’t entirely accurate. If you notice your Nest constantly undoing your changes, you’ll probably prefer to turn off the feature outright.
- Disabling the setting from the Nest app: Your phone or tablet’s Nest app is supposed to have a History option and a Settings option. Google directs users to their History to switch off Seasonal Savings, but other homeowners have found this option within Settings. Once disabled, the feature is temporarily off until the next summer or winter.
- Stopping the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also possess a History option where you can opt out of Seasonal Savings, but many homeowners state the disable option is absent.
- Opting out before the program launches: The Seasonal Savings program is only available in summer and winter. Your smart device should receive a notification when the program is about to start, offering you the chance to opt out.
When Seasonal Savings is live, your Nest will feature a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If your Nest is having issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is not visible, your predicament could be with another setting entirely.
Sometimes the Issue Isn’t Seasonal Savings but a Different Setting or Program
Alternative settings on Nest smart thermostats apart from Seasonal Savings can cause automatic temperature changes. If these features are active during Seasonal Savings, even shutting off the program may not keep the thermostat from making changes. Fortunately, these settings can be switched 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 extend the Auto-Schedule feature, using their capacity to learn your preferences to define the best possible schedule. Going into Settings and shutting off Auto-Schedule should stop other automatic changes such as Seasonal Savings.
- Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats might still switch to eco temperatures if you use an auto-switching setting like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These settings automatically change the temperature when the thermostat assumes that everyone is out of the house.
- Leaving the utility company’s energy agreement: Since your energy provider may be remotely controlling your Nest thermostat, opting out of the agreement should take away their access. You can obtain the full details of these agreements via your energy provider.
- Calling Google support: If everything else fails, contacting Google’s technical support may be of assistance. Staff can direct you to resetting the Nest or determining the appropriate setting to shut off Seasonal Savings.
If the Problem Remains, Your Thermostat Might Be Malfunctioning
There’s always the chance a Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical damage or software bugs can cause all types of issues, including an inconsistent Seasonal Savings program. If you think the problem is isolated to your specific thermostat, a skilled technician will be able to help. After all, smart thermostats are still a worthwhile investment for your home’s energy efficiency.
If you prefer local service for your smart thermostat in Fort Worth, call the HVAC experts at Calverley Service Experts. They can help you find the easiest way to switch off a stubborn Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.