How to Disable Your Nest Thermostats Seasonal Savings Program

Smart thermostats are gaining in popularity as more and more homeowners seek out ways to lower their energy bills. These systems can be programmed to conveniently maintain the temperature at home according to your weekly schedule. They also have the capacity to learn these preferences over time. As a result, you can spend less on your energy bills by making sure that your HVAC system is only on 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–could be making trouble rather than helping your HVAC system. Lasting issues are pushing homeowners to find out how to disable this feature. We’ll present the trouble some people are having with Seasonal Savings and offer instructions for how to opt out of the setting.

Many Homeowners Allege the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Like It Should

Google built the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners boost their energy efficiency. During maximum 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 expected to run without interrupting your sense of comfort, setting up the biggest changes when you’re away or asleep. However, this isn’t the case for many people enrolled in the program.

In fact, there are accounts that the program is contradictory and irritating to use. Homeowners are complaining 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 found the way to do so is hard to find or entirely absent. In various cases people have even noticed it being turned back on after it was disabled.

Smart thermostats are supposed to strengthen the efficiency of your HVAC system. While automatic temperature corrections are a customary feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t bypass your desired settings. If a Nest refuses to accommodate your comfort preferences, disabling the Seasonal Savings option is the best move.

But First, Why Is This A Problem?

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

These agreements help you raise your home’s energy efficiency. They may come with rebates on new products or special promotions for renewable energy systems. But most people are surprised to find out 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 over your thermostat and turn up the temperature. You might be having trouble with the Seasonal Savings program because a utility company is taking advantage of this remote access.

But what if the feature is faulty or just disregarding your preferences? Whatever the reason is, you don’t want a feature to increase your energy use without your consent. We’ll share how other people have disabled the Seasonal Savings program.

How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature

A number of people have reported trouble shutting off the Seasonal Savings feature. While the location of this setting may be different based on your specific Nest model, other users are worried that Google is purposely making it harder to opt out of Seasonal Savings. To ensure you can opt out no matter what, we’ll include the ways other users have had success.

1. 1. Overriding Seasonal Savings: Manually setting the temperature should override the Seasonal Savings program, but quite a few users have observed this isn’t entirely accurate. If you see your Nest consistently reversing your changes, you’ll probably opt to shut off the feature outright.

2. 2. Opting out of the program from the Nest app: Your phone or tablet’s Nest app should have a History option and a Settings option. Google guides users to their History to switch off Seasonal Savings, but other people have discovered this option in Settings. Once disabled, the feature is temporarily off until the following summer or winter.

3. 3. Shutting off the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also possess a History option where you can disable Seasonal Savings, but some homeowners report the disable option is absent.

4. 4. Opting out before the program begins: The Seasonal Savings program is only obtainable in summer and winter. Your smart device will be sent a notification when the program is about to start, allowing you the opportunity to opt out.

When Seasonal Savings is engaged, your Nest will show a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If your Nest is having issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is not visible, your problem might be with another setting entirely.

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

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

5. 5. Shutting off Auto-Schedule: The Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat both give you the Auto-Schedule feature, using their capacity to understand your preferences to establish the ideal schedule. Going into Settings and turning off Auto-Schedule should stop other automatic changes such as Seasonal Savings.

1. 1. Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats can still swap to eco temperatures if you use an auto-switching function like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These features automatically control the temperature when the thermostat assumes that no one is home.

6. 6. Opting out of the utility company’s energy agreement: Considering your energy provider could be remotely controlling your Nest thermostat, opting out of 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, reaching out to Google’s technical support might be of service. Staff can point you to resetting the Nest or locating the correct setting to shut off Seasonal Savings.

If the Problem Persists, Your Thermostat Might Be Faulty

There’s always the chance a Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical issues or software glitches can cause all types of trouble, including an inconsistent Seasonal Savings program. If you believe the problem is isolated to your specific thermostat, an experienced technician will 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 the U.S., get in touch with the heating and cooling experts at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing. They can help you figure out the ideal way to stop an uncooperative Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.