How to Shut Off Your Nest Thermostats Seasonal Savings Program

Smart thermostats are increasing in popularity as more and more homeowners seek out ways to cut down on their energy costs. These accessories can be programmed to conveniently regulate the temperature at home in line with your weekly schedule. They also have the capability to learn 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 plenty of homeowners are satisfied with its features and general efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–might be stirring up trouble as opposed to improving your HVAC system. Persistent issues are forcing homeowners to research how to disable this feature. We’ll review the trouble some people are having with Seasonal Savings and offer instructions for how to opt out of the feature.

Many Homeowners Argue the Seasonal Savings Program Isn’t Working Well

Google designed the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners increase their energy efficiency. Around the highest HVAC use in the summer and winter, it should automatically adjust the thermostat to balance your preferences with energy efficiency. The program is expected to run without interrupting your sense of comfort, implementing the biggest changes when you’re away or asleep. However, this isn’t the case for numerous people taking part in the program.

Instead, there are accounts that the program is inconsistent and irritating to use. Homeowners are complaining that the program is actually increasing their energy bills instead of shrinking them. And when they attempt to disable or opt out of Seasonal Savings, they’ve noticed the setting to do so is hard to find or outright absent. In many cases people have even observed it being flipped back on after it was disabled.

Smart thermostats are supposed to enhance the efficiency of your HVAC system. While automatic temperature corrections are a common feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t ignore your favored settings. If your Nest refuses to accommodate 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 feature was running on their Nest thermostat without their permission. Why can a smart thermostat you operate brush off your settings and opt in for the program? It might be because of an energy-efficiency program you signed up for with your utility company.

These agreements help you raise your home’s energy efficiency. They can offer rebates on new equipment or special offers for renewable energy equipment. But most people are surprised to learn they also allow your utility company remote access to the thermostat. If the power grid is experiencing a heavy load, the utility company can override your thermostat and change the temperature. You could be having issues with the Seasonal Savings program because a utility company is making use of this remote access.

But what if the program is defective or just disregarding your preferences? Whatever the reason is, you don’t want a feature to double your energy use without your approval. We’ll walk you through how other homeowners have opted out of the Seasonal Savings program.

How to Disable Your Nest Thermostat’s Seasonal Savings Feature

A number of people have experienced trouble shutting off the Seasonal Savings feature. While the location of this setting may be different depending on your specific Nest model, other users are alarmed that Google is intentionally making it more difficult to disable 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 adjusting the temperature should supersede the Seasonal Savings program, but quite a few users have noticed this isn’t entirely accurate. If you note your Nest repeatedly ignoring 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 ought to have a History option and a Settings option. Google points users to their History to shut off Seasonal Savings, but other homeowners have located this option in Settings. Once disabled, the feature is temporarily off until the subsequent summer or winter.

3. 3. Disabling the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also display a History option where you can disable Seasonal Savings, but many homeowners report the disable option is not there.

4. 4. Opting out before the program starts: The Seasonal Savings program is only accessible in summer and winter. Your smart device is supposed to get a notification when the program is about to launch, offering you the chance to opt out.

When Seasonal Savings is active, your Nest will display a small yellow symbol of a leaf. If a Nest is having issues and the Seasonal Savings icon is missing, your predicament could be with a different setting entirely.

Sometimes the Issue Isn’t Seasonal Savings but a Different Setting or Program

Alternative settings on Nest smart thermostats aside from Seasonal Savings can cause counterintuitive temperature changes. If these features are active during Seasonal Savings, even disabling the program may not keep the thermostat from making changes. Fortunately, these settings can be turned off. You’ll also have options if the problem is a third party like a power company.

5. 5. Shutting 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 establish the ideal schedule. Going into Settings and switching off Auto-Schedule should stop other automatic adjustments including Seasonal Savings.

1. 1. Disabling auto switching: Nest thermostats will still switch to eco temperatures if you possess an auto-switching feature like Home & Away Routines or Home/Away Assist. These settings automatically regulate the temperature when the thermostat thinks that everyone is out of the house.

6. 6. Leaving the utility company’s energy agreement: Since your energy provider might be remotely controlling a Nest thermostat, opting out of the agreement should get rid of remote access. You can find the full details of these agreements via your energy provider.

7. 7. Reaching out to Google support: If everything else fails, calling Google’s technical support might be of help. Staff can steer you to resetting the Nest or determining the appropriate setting to shut off Seasonal Savings.

If the Problem Remains, Your Thermostat Could Be Faulty

There’s always the risk the Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical issues or software glitches can cause all types of problems, including an obnoxious Seasonal Savings program. If you think the problem is isolated to your personal thermostat, an experienced technician may be able to help. After all, smart thermostats remain a worthwhile investment for your home’s energy efficiency.

If you prefer local service for your smart thermostat in the U.S., call the comfort experts at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing. They can help you determine the easiest way to stop a stubborn Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.