How to Deactivate Your Nest Thermostats Seasonal Savings Program
Smart thermostats are gaining in popularity as more and more homeowners seek out ways to cut down on their energy costs. These systems can be programmed to automatically adjust the temperature inside your home in line with your daily schedule. They also have the capability to learn these preferences over time. As a result, you can spend less on your energy bills by making sure that your comfort system is only running when you need it.
Google’s smart thermostat is the Nest, and lots of homeowners are content with its features and overall efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–is stirring up trouble instead of assisting your HVAC system. Constant issues are forcing homeowners to find out how to switch off this feature. We’ll share 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 Correctly
Google designed the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners boost their energy efficiency. For peak HVAC use in the summer and winter, it is supposed to automatically adjust the thermostat to match your preferences with energy efficiency. The program is designed to run without interrupting your sense of comfort, implementing the biggest changes when you’re away or asleep. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for lots of people enrolled in the program.
Alternatively, there are reports that the program is inconsistent and frustrating to use. Homeowners are concerned that the program is even increasing their energy bills instead of lowering them. And when they try to disable or opt out of Seasonal Savings, they’ve noticed the setting to do so is difficult to find or entirely missing. In many cases people have even discovered it being flipped back on after it was disabled.
Smart thermostats are intended to increase the efficiency of your HVAC system. While automatic temperature corrections are a widespread feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t ignore your favored settings. If a Nest won’t work with your comfort preferences, shutting off the Seasonal Savings feature 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 authorization. Why can a smart thermostat you control brush off your settings and enroll in the program? It could be because of an energy-efficiency agreement you signed up for with your utility company.
These agreements help you enhance your home’s energy efficiency. They can offer rebates on new products or special promotions for renewable energy equipment. But most people are shocked to hear they also permit your utility company remote access to the thermostat. If the power grid is experiencing a heavy load, the utility company can take over your thermostat and raise the temperature. You might be having trouble 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 malfunctioning or just dismissing your preferences? Whatever the reason may be, you don’t want a feature to double your energy use without your consent. We’ll review how other people have turned off the Seasonal Savings program.
How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature
A number of people have experienced trouble disabling the Seasonal Savings feature. While the location of this setting could be different depending on your specific Nest model, other users are worried that Google is intentionally making it tougher to disable Seasonal Savings. To make sure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll include the ways other users have enjoyed success.
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- Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually changing the temperature should override the Seasonal Savings program, but quite a few users have noticed this isn’t the case. If you note your Nest persistently reversing your changes, you’ll probably want to shut off the feature entirely.
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- Disabling 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 disable Seasonal Savings, but other users have located this option in Settings. Once disabled, the setting is temporarily off until the next summer or winter.
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- Shutting off the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also feature a History option where you can disable Seasonal Savings, but many homeowners report the disable option is absent.
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- Opting out before the program launches: The Seasonal Savings program is only available around summer and winter. Your smart device should receive a notification when the program is about to start, offering you the opportunity to opt out.
When Seasonal Savings is live, your Nest will feature a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If a Nest is having issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is not visible, your problem could be with another setting entirely.
Sometimes the Problem Isn’t Seasonal Savings but Another Setting or Program
Different options on Nest smart thermostats apart from Seasonal Savings can lead to counterintuitive temperature changes. If these settings are active during Seasonal Savings, even shutting off the program may not keep the thermostat from making changes. Luckily, these settings can be disabled. You’ll also have options if the headache is a third party like the power company.
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- Turning off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both extend the Auto-Schedule feature, using their capability to understand your preferences to define the ideal schedule. Going into Settings and turning off Auto-Schedule should disable other automatic adjustments including Seasonal Savings.
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- Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats can still flip to eco temperatures if you have an auto-switching function like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These features automatically control the temperature when the thermostat detects that no one is home.
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- Leaving the utility company’s energy agreement: Since your energy provider could be remotely controlling the Nest thermostat, negating the agreement should get rid of unwanted access. You can locate the complete details of these agreements with your energy provider.
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- Reaching out to Google support: If everything else fails, calling Google’s technical support may be of help. Staff can point you to resetting the Nest or locating the appropriate setting to turn off Seasonal Savings.
If the Problem Persists, Your Thermostat Might Be Defective
There’s always the risk your Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical problems or software glitches can result in all types of issues, including an aggravating Seasonal Savings program. If you suspect the problem is isolated to your personal thermostat, a skilled technician might be able to help. After all, smart thermostats continue to be a worthwhile investment for your home’s energy efficiency.
If you want local service for your smart thermostat in the U.S., call the HVAC specialists at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing. They can help you find the easiest way to stop a stubborn Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.