From a tropical vacation or a long trip for work, traveling means making plans for your HVAC system. You won’t be using it while you’re away, so you can make adjustments as needed to conserve your energy use. Simultaneously, you don’t want to just leave it off for the entire duration of your trip.
Instead, it’s best to leave your HVAC system running and just make adjustments depending on the season. That way you can minimize energy costs without stressing about getting back to an uncomfortable home. We’ll review why you shouldn’t turn your HVAC system off as well as the most energy-efficient thermostat settings for summer and winter.
Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Leave Your Thermostat on Hold
While you could be wanting to leave your HVAC system off before a trip, this will sometimes end up leading to big problems by the time you return. This is particularly true when the weather will be severely hot or cold while you’re away from home.
For example, turning the HVAC system off during the summer will sometimes produce very high humidity. Not only will your home feel gross when you have returned, but it may have also encouraged mold/mildew growth or pest infestations.
And over the winter, leaving the furnace off will sometimes lead to pipes icing over or even bursting. It’s an awful feeling to get home from a long trip only to discover substantial water damage near a broken pipe.
Ideal Thermostat Settings While at Work
You can optimize the temperature even as you come and go to work. Since you’re out of the house for about 8 hours or longer, it doesn’t seem sensible to keep an empty home heated or cooled as if you were there. As a general rule, it’s encouraged to raise the thermostat by 5 degrees or more. Meaning that if you prefer a comfortable 72 degrees, try increasing it to 76-77 while you’re out.
But you may save even more if you’re willing to further adjust the temperature. According to the Department of Energy, you may save around 10% on your HVAC expenses by increasing the adjustment to 7-10 degrees.
Best Thermostat Settings While Away from Home in Summer
If you're on an extended trip in the hottest part of summer, you can make more significant adjustments. This helps you avoid using too much energy while still safeguarding your home from the issues that come with leaving it un-air conditioned. Around 5 degrees is suitable for short trips while closer to 10 degrees is ideal if you’ll be out of town for 2 weeks or longer. If you like keeping the house at 72 in the summer, 78-82 can offer the best results.
Best Thermostat Settings While On a Trip in Winter
To figure out the ideal thermostat setting for a winter trip, consider lowering the temperature by the same amount you would adjust it in summer. 68 is a common winter thermostat setting, so adjusting to 63-58 will protect your plumbing while minimizing how long your furnace operates.
A Smart Thermostat Can Help: Benefits of a Smart Thermostat
An ideal strategy to regulate your home’s HVAC system while out of the house is by investing in a smart thermostat. This special type of programmable thermostat uses intelligent software to monitor your preferred comfort habits. It applies these preferences and makes automatic corrections to the schedule for higher energy efficiency. And with Wi-Fi integration, you can remotely access your heating and cooling using a mobile device or tablet.
Smart thermostats are loaded with features to help you save on your energy bill. For example, certain models can monitor electricity prices to increase heating or cooling when prices are lower. They can also work with high-efficiency, variable-speed equipment to refine how long your HVAC system should run. It’s the optimal tool to streamline how you use your comfort system. If you’re considering investing in a smart thermostat, there are multiple ways you can bring down your costs, essentially getting a smart thermostat for free. The next time you leave for vacation, you can receive true peace of mind that your HVAC system won’t stir up any trouble while you’re gone.