Between a much-needed vacation or an extended trip for work, taking a trip means making preparations for your heating and cooling system. You won’t be using it if you’re not home, so you can make adjustments as needed to limit your energy use. Just the same, you don’t want to just leave it off for the entire duration of your trip.

In general, it’s best to leave your HVAC system on and adjust the temperature depending on the season. That way you can reduce energy costs without having to worry about getting back to an uncomfortable home. We’ll walk you through why you shouldn’t turn your HVAC system off as well as the ideal thermostat settings for summer and winter.

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

While you might be tempted to leave your HVAC system off before a trip, this will sometimes end up causing costly problems by the time you come back. This is notably true in case the weather will be severely hot or cold while you’re gone.

As an example, turning the HVAC system off during the summer can produce 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 might lead to pipes freezing or even bursting. It’s exhausting to return home from a nice trip only to find substantial water damage close to a broken pipe.

Ideal Thermostat Settings While at Work

You can make temperature adjustments even if you’re coming and going to work. Considering you’re out of the house for 8 hours or more, it doesn’t help your monthly energy bill to keep an empty home the same temperature as when you're home. Generally, it’s suggested to raise the thermostat by 5 degrees or more. That means that if you prefer a comfortable 72 degrees, consider 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 stated by the Department of Energy, you may save nearly 10% on your HVAC spending by making an adjustment of 7-10 degrees.

Energy-Efficient Thermostat Settings While on Vacation in Summer

If you're on a longer trip in the heart of summer, you can make larger adjustments. This helps you avoid using too much energy while still defending your home from the problems that come with leaving it without air conditioning. Something like 5 degrees is recommended for brief trips while closer to 10 degrees is ideal if you’ll be out of town for 2 weeks or longer. If you enjoy keeping the house at 72 in the summer, 78-82 should offer the best results.

Best Thermostat Settings While Away from Home in Winter

To determine the most energy-efficient thermostat setting for a winter trip, just lower the temperature by the same amount you would adjust it in summer. 68 is a common winter thermostat setting, so adjusting to 63-58 will prevent ice from forming on pipes while minimizing how frequently your furnace runs.

A Smart Thermostat Can Help: Advantages of a Smart Thermostat

An ideal strategy to optimize your home’s HVAC system while away is with a smart thermostat. This innovative type of programmable thermostat uses intelligent software to monitor your preferred comfort habits. It gradually understands these preferences and makes automatic corrections to the schedule for higher energy efficiency. And with Wi-Fi compatibility, you can remotely access your HVAC system 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, some models can track electricity prices to increase heating or cooling when prices are lower. They can also work with high-efficiency, variable-speed equipment to refine how long your HVAC system has to run. It’s the perfect tool to streamline how you use your comfort system. If you’re thinking about investing in a smart thermostat, there are multiple ways you can bring down your costs, effectively 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 stir up any trouble while you’re away.