What to Set Your Thermostat to When Away

From a much-needed vacation or an extended trip for work, taking a trip means making plans for your home comfort system. You won’t be using it if you’re on a trip, so you can adjust the temperature as appropriate to minimize your energy use. Just the same, you shouldn't just leave it off for the entire time you're out of the house.

Instead, it’s better to leave your HVAC system running and just make adjustments depending on whether it's winter or summer. That way you can lower energy costs without worrying about returning to an uncomfortable home. We’ll review why you should leave your HVAC system on as well as the best thermostat settings for summer and winter.

Here’s Why You Don't Leave Your Thermostat on Hold

While you may be wanting to turn your HVAC system off before a trip, this will sometimes end up causing 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 instance, turning the HVAC system down during the summer can cause very high humidity. Not only will your home feel gross when you come back, but it might have also encouraged mold/mildew growth or pest infestations.

And during the winter, leaving the furnace off could lead to pipes freezing or even bursting. It’s never fun to come home from a nice trip only to find considerable water damage close to a broken pipe.

Best 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 the same temperature as when you're home. Generally, it’s recommended to adjust the thermostat by 5 degrees or so. Meaning that if you prefer a comfortable 72 degrees, think about raising 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 about 10% on your HVAC spending by raising the temperature by about 7-10 degrees.

Best Thermostat Settings While Away from Home in Summer

If you leave for an extended trip in the middle of summer, you can make bigger adjustments. This ensures you don’t waste energy while still defending your home from the problems that come with leaving it uncooled. About 5 degrees is recommended for shorter trips while around 10 degrees is best if you’ll be gone for 2 weeks or longer. If you enjoy keeping the house at 72 in the summer, 78-82 will offer beneficial results.

Recommended Thermostat Settings While On a Trip in Winter

To try and find the ideal thermostat setting for a winter vacation, consider lowering the temperature by the same amount you would increase it in summer. 68 is a frequent winter thermostat setting, so turning it down to 63-58 will prevent ice from forming on pipes while limiting how frequently your furnace runs.

A Smart Thermostat Can Help: Advantages of a Smart Thermostat

A great way to regulate your home’s HVAC system while away is by investing in a smart thermostat. This special type of programmable thermostat utilizes intelligent software to track your usual comfort habits. It learns these preferences and makes automatic adjustments to the schedule for maximum energy efficiency. And with Wi-Fi compatibility, you can remotely access your HVAC system using a mobile device or tablet.

Smart thermostats are loaded with features to help you save even more. For instance, certain models can track electricity prices to bolster heating or cooling when prices are more affordable. They can also work with high-efficiency, variable-speed equipment to refine how long your HVAC system should run. It’s the perfect 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 are away from home, you can enjoy true peace of mind that your HVAC system won’t stir up any trouble while you’re gone.