From a relaxing vacation or an extended trip for work, traveling means making plans for your heating and cooling system. You can't use it while you’re away, so you can make adjustments as necessary to conserve your energy use. Just the same, you shouldn't just shut it down for the entire duration of your trip.
Instead, it’s best to leave your HVAC system on and just raise or lower depending on whether it's winter or summer. That way you can lower energy costs without stressing about coming back to an uncomfortable home. We’ll review why you shouldn’t turn your HVAC system off as well as the best thermostat settings for summer and winter.
Here’s Why You Avoid Leaving Your Thermostat on Hold
While you could be wanting to leave your HVAC system off before a trip, this can end up causing costly problems by the time you come back. This is particularly true if the weather will be severely hot or cold while you’re gone.
For instance, switching the HVAC system down during the summer could lead to very high humidity. Not only will your home feel muggy and uncomfortable when you have returned, but it may have also stimulated mold/mildew growth or pest infestations.
And during the winter, letting your house get cold can lead to pipes icing over or even bursting. It’s an awful feeling to come home from a nice trip only to discover extensive water damage nearby a broken pipe.
Ideal Thermostat Settings While at Work
You can make temperature adjustments even as you come and go to work. Because you’re not home for around 8 hours or so, it doesn’t seem sensible to keep an empty home at the same temperature you’d usually have. Generally, it’s recommended to adjust the thermostat by 5 degrees or so. This means that if you prefer a comfortable 72 degrees, think about increasing it to 76-77 while you’re gone.
But you can save even more if you're open to further adjusting the temperature. According to the Department of Energy, you may save nearly 10% on your HVAC expenses by increasing the adjustment to 7-10 degrees.
Best Thermostat Settings While on Vacation in Summer
If you’re leaving for a lengthier trip in the heart of summer, you can make more significant adjustments. This prevents wasting energy while still defending your home from the issues that come with leaving it uncooled. Around 5 degrees is appropriate for brief trips while closer to 10 degrees is ideal if you’ll be away from home for 2 weeks or longer. If you like keeping the house at 72 in the summer, 78-82 should offer great results.
Best Thermostat Settings While On a Trip in Winter
To figure out the best thermostat setting for a winter getaway, simply lower it by the same amount you would increase it in summer. 68 is a popular winter thermostat setting, so turning it down to 63-58 will prevent ice from forming on pipes while limiting how long your furnace runs.
Smart Thermostats Are Even Better: Advantages of a Smart Thermostat
One of the best ways to optimize your home’s HVAC system while away from home is using a smart thermostat. This advanced type of programmable thermostat employs intelligent software to track your usual comfort habits. It applies these preferences and makes automatic changes to the schedule for higher energy efficiency. And with Wi-Fi compatibility, you can remotely control your HVAC system using a smart device like a phone or tablet.
Smart thermostats are loaded with features to help you save on your energy bill. To provide an example, certain models can observe electricity prices to boost heating or cooling when prices are lowest. They are compatible with high-efficiency, variable-speed equipment to fine-tune how long your HVAC system needs to run. It’s the ideal tool to streamline how you control your comfort system. If you’re considering investing in a smart thermostat, there are a variety of ways you can bring down your costs, essentially getting a smart thermostat for free. The next time you are away from home, you can receive true peace of mind that your HVAC system won’t cause any trouble while you’re away.
