From a tropical vacation or an extended trip for work, traveling means making preparations for your home comfort system. You can't use it as long as you’re on a trip, so you can adjust the temperature as needed to limit your energy use. At the same time, you don’t want to just leave it off for the entire time you're out of the house.
Instead, it’s ideal to leave your HVAC system on and just make adjustments depending on whether it's winter or summer. That way you can reduce energy costs without having to worry about returning 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 Shouldn’t Leave Your Thermostat on Hold
While you may be wanting to leave your HVAC system off before a trip, this could end up stirring up costly problems by the time you get back. This is especially true if the weather will be severely hot or cold while you’re away from home.
As an example, shutting the HVAC system off during the summer will sometimes lead to very high humidity. Not only will your home feel gross when you return, but it may have also stimulated mold/mildew growth or pest infestations.
And during the winter, leaving the furnace off can lead to pipes icing over or even bursting. It’s an awful feeling to get home from a vacation only to find substantial water damage close to a broken pipe.
Energy-Efficient Thermostat Settings While at Work
You can adjust the temperature even if you’re coming and going to work. Because you’re away for around 8 hours or so, it doesn’t help your monthly energy bill to keep an empty home heated or cooled as if you were there. Generally, it’s recommended to adjust the thermostat by 5 degrees or more. This means that if you prefer a comfortable 72 degrees, try raising it to 76-77 while you’re gone.
But you may save even more if you try further adjustments to the temperature. According to the Department of Energy, you might save around 10% on your HVAC expenses by increasing the adjustment to 7-10 degrees.
Energy-Efficient Thermostat Settings While on a Trip in Summer
If you're on a longer trip in the heart of summer, you can make larger adjustments. This ensures you don’t waste energy while still protecting your home from the hassles that come with leaving it without air conditioning. About 5 degrees is suitable for brief trips while a larger adjustment of 10 degrees is worthwhile if you’ll be out of town for 2 weeks or more. If you enjoy keeping the house at 72 in the summer, 78-82 will offer beneficial results.
Ideal Thermostat Settings While On a Trip in Winter
To determine the most energy-efficient thermostat setting for a winter trip, simply lower it by the same amount you would raise it in summer. 68 is a common winter thermostat setting, so turning it down to 63-58 will keep your plumbing safe while limiting how long your furnace runs.
A Smart Thermostat Can Help: Benefits of a Smart Thermostat
A great way to regulate your home’s HVAC system while out of the house is with a smart thermostat. This advanced type of programmable thermostat uses intelligent software to track your preferred comfort habits. It applies these preferences and makes automatic adjustments to the schedule for maximum energy efficiency. And with Wi-Fi compatibility, you can remotely control your heating and cooling from a mobile device or tablet.
Smart thermostats are packed with features to help you save on your energy bill. For instance, certain models can observe electricity prices to increase heating or cooling when prices are more affordable. They can be used with high-efficiency, variable-speed equipment to fine-tune how long your HVAC system needs to run. It’s the optimal 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 lower your costs, in essence getting a smart thermostat for free. The next time you leave for vacation, you can appreciate true peace of mind that your HVAC system won’t stir up any trouble while you’re gone.