How to Turn Off Your Nest Thermostats Seasonal Savings Program

Smart thermostats are growing in popularity as more and more homeowners seek out ways to reduce their energy costs. These systems can be programmed to efficiently regulate the temperature inside your home according to your weekly schedule. They also have the capability to learn your preferences over time. Subsequently, you can spend less on your energy bills by ensuring that your home is only heated or cooled when you need it.

Google’s smart thermostat is the Nest, and numerous homeowners are satisfied with its features and overall efficiency. But one feature–the Seasonal Savings program–is stirring up trouble rather than improving your HVAC system. Consistent 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 program.

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

Google built the Seasonal Savings program to help homeowners enhance their energy efficiency. For maximum HVAC use in the summer and winter, it will automatically adjust the thermostat to balance your preferences with energy efficiency. The program is supposed to run without interrupting your sense of comfort, making the biggest changes when you’re away or asleep. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for numerous people participating in the program.

Alternatively, there are accounts that the program is contradictory and irritating to use. Homeowners are concerned that the program is really increasing their energy bills instead of shrinking them. And when they attempt to disable or opt out of Seasonal Savings, they’ve discovered the setting to do so is tough to find or outright absent. In several cases people have even noticed it being turned back on after it was disabled.

Smart thermostats are designed to enhance the efficiency of your heating and cooling. While automatic temperature adjustments are a common feature in smart thermostats, it shouldn’t bypass your preferred settings. If a Nest won’t work with your comfort preferences, disabling the Seasonal Savings option is the best move.

But First, Why Is This Going On?

Homeowners are complaining that the Seasonal Savings program was running on their Nest thermostat without their consent. Why would a smart thermostat you operate dismiss your settings and enroll in the program? It may be because of an energy-efficiency program you registered for with a utility company.

These agreements help you raise your home’s energy efficiency. They can offer rebates on new accessories or special promotions for renewable energy equipment. But most people are shocked to hear they also allow your utility company remote access to your thermostat. If the power grid is under a heavy load, the utility company can take control of your thermostat and turn up the temperature. You may well be having issues with the Seasonal Savings program because a utility company is taking advantage of this remote access.

But what if the program is faulty or just dismissing your preferences? Whatever the reason is, you don’t want a feature to increase your energy use without your approval. We’ll explain how other users 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 could be different according to your specific Nest model, other users are alarmed that Google is purposely making it more difficult to turn off Seasonal Savings. To make sure 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 many users have found this isn’t the case. If you see your Nest persistently undoing your changes, you’ll probably opt to disable the feature outright.

2. 2. Shutting off the setting from the Nest app: Your phone or tablet’s Nest app should have a History option and a Settings option. Google points users to their History to shut off Seasonal Savings, but other users have located this option within Settings. Once disabled, the setting is temporarily off until the next summer or winter.

3. 3. Shutting off the program from the Nest thermostat: Your thermostat should also have a History option where you can opt out of Seasonal Savings, but some homeowners report the disable option is not there.

4. 4. Opting out before the program launches: The Seasonal Savings program is only accessible during summer and winter. Your smart device should receive a notification when the program is about to launch, giving you the opportunity to opt out.

When Seasonal Savings is engaged, your Nest is supposed to display 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 Another Setting or Program

Additional options on Nest smart thermostats besides Seasonal Savings can cause automatic temperature changes. If these features are active during Seasonal Savings, even disabling the program may not keep the thermostat from making adjustments. 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 study your preferences to define the perfect schedule. Going into Settings and turning off Auto-Schedule should prevent other automatic controls like Seasonal Savings.

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

6. 6. Negating the utility company’s energy agreement: Since your energy provider may be remotely controlling a Nest thermostat, opting out of the agreement should get rid of unwanted access. You can find the complete details of these agreements with your energy provider.

7. 7. Calling Google support: If all else fails, calling Google’s technical support might be of help. Staff can steer you to resetting the Nest or finding the correct setting to turn off Seasonal Savings.

If the Problem Continues, Your Thermostat May Be Faulty

There’s always the chance your Nest smart thermostat is just malfunctioning. Electrical problems or software bugs can cause all sorts of trouble, including an aggravating Seasonal Savings program. If you suspect the problem is isolated to your own thermostat, a knowledgeable technician may be able to help. After all, smart thermostats continue to be a valuable investment for your home’s energy efficiency.

If you want local support for your smart thermostat in the U.S., call the heating and cooling specialists at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing. They can help you find the ideal way to switch off an uncooperative Seasonal Savings program on your Nest thermostat.