Between a relaxing vacation or a lengthy trip for work, traveling means making plans for your heating and cooling system. You won’t be using it if you’re not home, so you can adjust the temperature as needed to limit your energy use. At the same time, you don’t want to just turn it off for the entire time you're gone.
In general, it’s better to leave your HVAC system going and just raise or lower depending on whether it's winter or summer. That way you can reduce energy costs without stressing about coming back to an uncomfortable home. We’ll review why you should leave your HVAC system on as well as the most energy-efficient thermostat settings for various times of year.
Here’s Why You Don't Leave Your Thermostat Alone
While you may be tempted to shut your HVAC system down before a trip, this can end up causing annoying problems by the time you get back. This is especially true if the weather will be severely hot or cold while you’re out of town.
For instance, turning the HVAC system off in the summer can produce very high humidity. Not only will your home feel gross when you return, but it might have also encouraged mold/mildew growth or pest infestations.
And during the winter, not using the furnace could lead to pipes freezing or even bursting. It’s exhausting to return home from a long trip only to discover substantial water damage nearby a broken pipe.
Ideal Thermostat Settings While at Work
You can adjust the temperature even when you're just going to work. Since you’re not home for about 8 hours or longer, it doesn’t make sense to keep an empty home heated or cooled as if you were there. In general, it’s encouraged to turn up the thermostat by 5 degrees or so. Meaning that if you prefer a comfortable 72 degrees, think about adjusting it to 76-77 while you’re at work.
But you can save even more if you’re willing to further adjust the temperature. As reported by the Department of Energy, you may save around 10% on your HVAC spending by making an adjustment of 7-10 degrees.
Best Thermostat Settings While on Vacation in Summer
If you're on an extended trip in the middle of summer, you can make more significant adjustments. This ensures you don’t waste energy while still defending your home from the hassles that come with leaving it un-air conditioned. About 5 degrees is suitable for brief trips while closer to 10 degrees is best if you’ll be gone for 2 weeks or more. If you enjoy keeping the house at 72 in the summer, 78-82 should offer great results.
Recommended Thermostat Settings While on Vacation in Winter
To figure out the most energy-efficient thermostat setting for a winter trip, consider lowering the temperature by the same amount you would increase it in summer. 68 is a frequent winter thermostat setting, so lowering it to 63-58 will keep your plumbing safe while limiting how frequently your furnace runs.
A Smart Thermostat Can Help: Advantages of Smart Thermostat Installation
An ideal strategy to regulate your home’s HVAC system while away is using a smart thermostat. This innovative type of programmable thermostat uses intelligent software to track your typical comfort habits. It learns these preferences and makes automatic corrections to the schedule for maximum energy efficiency. And with Wi-Fi connectivity, you can remotely access your HVAC system from a smartphone or tablet.
Smart thermostats are loaded with features to help you save energy and lower costs. To provide an example, certain models can track electricity prices to increase heating or cooling when prices are more affordable. They are compatible with high-efficiency, variable-speed equipment to optimize how long your HVAC system should run. It’s the ideal tool to streamline how you control your comfort system. If you’re thinking about investing in a smart thermostat, there are a variety of ways you can bring down your costs, in essence getting a smart thermostat for free. The next time you are away from home, you can enjoy true peace of mind that your HVAC system won’t cause any trouble while you’re gone.