The Best Settings for Your Thermostat When You're Away

Between a relaxing vacation or a lengthy trip for work, leaving home means making preparations for your heating and cooling system. You can't use it as long as you’re not home, so you can make adjustments 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 ideal to leave your HVAC system running and adjust the temperature depending on whether it's winter or summer. That way you can reduce energy costs without having to worry about coming back to an uncomfortable home. We’ll walk you through why you should leave your HVAC system on as well as the most energy-efficient thermostat settings for summer and winter.

This Is Why You Avoid Leaving Your Thermostat on Hold

While you might be tempted to shut your HVAC system down before a trip, this could end up leading to costly problems by the time you get back. This is notably true if the weather will be severely hot or cold while you’re away from home.

For example, turning the HVAC system off during the summer could lead to very high humidity. Not only will your home feel like a swamp when you return, but it could have also invited mold/mildew growth or pest infestations.

And during the winter, not using the furnace can lead to pipes icing over or even bursting. It’s never fun to get home from a nice trip only to come across 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. Considering you’re away for 8 hours or more, it doesn’t make sense to keep an empty home the same temperature as when you're home. Generally, it’s encouraged to adjust the thermostat by 5 degrees or so. This means that if you prefer a comfortable 72 degrees, try raising it to 76-77 while you’re at work.

But you could save even more if you're open to further adjusting the temperature. As reported by the Department of Energy, you may save nearly 10% on your HVAC expenses by raising the temperature by about 7-10 degrees.

Ideal Thermostat Settings While on a Trip in Summer

If you’re leaving for a lengthier trip in the hottest part of summer, you can make larger adjustments. This helps you avoid using too much energy while still protecting your home from the problems that come with leaving it uncooled. Around 5 degrees is suitable for shorter trips while closer to 10 degrees is best if you’ll be out of town for 2 weeks or more. If you prefer keeping the house at 72 in the summer, 78-82 can offer beneficial results.

Ideal Thermostat Settings While Away from Home in Winter

To try and find the ideal thermostat setting for a winter getaway, just lower the temperature by the same amount you would raise 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: Perks of a Smart Thermostat

An ideal strategy to optimize your home’s HVAC system while away from home is by investing in a smart thermostat. This advanced type of programmable thermostat utilizes intelligent software to monitor your preferred comfort habits. It applies these preferences and makes automatic changes to the schedule for higher energy efficiency. And with Wi-Fi integration, you can remotely adjust your heating and cooling using a smart device like a phone or tablet.

Smart thermostats are stuffed 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 lowest. They can be used with high-efficiency, variable-speed equipment to fine-tune how long your HVAC system should run. It’s the perfect 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, 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 away from home.