Between a relaxing vacation or an extended trip for work, taking a trip means making plans for your HVAC system. You won’t be using it as long as you’re not home, so you can adjust it as necessary to limit your energy use. Simultaneously, you don’t want to just leave it off for the entire time you're gone.
Instead, it’s better to leave your HVAC system on and adjust the temperature depending on the season. That way you can reduce energy costs without worrying about returning to an uncomfortable home. We’ll explain why you should leave your HVAC system on as well as the ideal thermostat settings for different times of year.
This Is Why You Don't Leave Your Thermostat Alone
While you may be wanting to turn your HVAC system off before a trip, this will sometimes end up stirring up costly problems by the time you return. This is notably true if the weather will be severely hot or cold while you’re away from home.
For example, switching the HVAC system down in the summer could lead to very high humidity. Not only will your home feel gross when you have returned, but it could have also encouraged mold/mildew growth or pest infestations.
And over the winter, letting your house get cold can lead to pipes freezing or even bursting. It’s exhausting to come home from a vacation only to discover extensive water damage close to a broken pipe.
Energy-Efficient Thermostat Settings While at Work
You can optimize the temperature even when you're just going to work. Because you’re out of the house for 8 hours or more, it doesn’t make sense to keep an empty home at the same temperature you’d usually have. In general, it’s encouraged to turn up the thermostat by 5 degrees or more. This means that if you prefer a comfortable 72 degrees, think about increasing it to 76-77 while you’re gone.
But you may save even more if you try further adjustments to the temperature. As reported by the Department of Energy, you might save around 10% on your HVAC spending by making an adjustment of 7-10 degrees.
Energy-Efficient Thermostat Settings While Away from Home in Summer
If you're on an extended trip in the hottest part of summer, you can make larger adjustments. This ensures you don’t waste energy while still defending your home from the hassles that come with leaving it without air conditioning. Around 5 degrees is recommended for brief trips while around 10 degrees is ideal if you’ll be away from home for 2 weeks or more. If you like keeping the house at 72 in the summer, 78-82 can offer great results.
Best Thermostat Settings While on Vacation in Winter
To figure out the ideal thermostat setting for a winter vacation, just lower the temperature by the same amount you would increase it in summer. 68 is a frequent winter thermostat setting, so adjusting to 63-58 will prevent ice from forming on pipes while restricting how often your furnace operates.
Smart Thermostats Are Even Better: Advantages of Smart Thermostat Installation
One of the best ways to optimize your home’s HVAC system while out of the house is using a smart thermostat. This innovative type of programmable thermostat employs intelligent software to understand your typical comfort habits. It gradually understands these preferences and makes automatic changes to the schedule for better energy efficiency. And with Wi-Fi integration, you can remotely adjust your HVAC system with a mobile device or tablet.
Smart thermostats are packed with features to help you save energy and lower costs. For instance, specific models can observe electricity prices to bolster heating or cooling when prices are lower. They are compatible with high-efficiency, variable-speed equipment to optimize how long your HVAC system should run. It’s the perfect tool to simplify how you use your comfort system. If you’re thinking about 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 are away from home, you can appreciate true peace of mind that your HVAC system won’t cause any trouble while you’re away from home.