Whether it’s a tropical vacation or an extended trip for work, taking a trip means making plans for your home comfort system. You don't need it while you’re away, so you can make adjustments as appropriate to minimize your energy use. At the same time, you don’t want to just turn it off for the entire duration of your trip.

In general, it’s ideal to leave your HVAC system going and just make adjustments depending on the time of year. That way you can lower energy costs without worrying about getting 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 different times of year.

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

While you may be wanting to leave your HVAC system off before a trip, this will sometimes end up leading to annoying problems by the time you come back. This is particularly true in case the weather will be severely hot or cold while you’re out of town.

For example, shutting the HVAC system down during the summer will sometimes lead to very high humidity. Not only will your home feel like a swamp when you come back, but it could have also encouraged mold/mildew growth or pest infestations.

And during the winter, letting your house get cold will sometimes lead to pipes freezing up or even bursting. It’s exhausting to get home from a nice trip only to find substantial water damage nearby a broken pipe.

Energy-Efficient Thermostat Settings While at Work

You can optimize the temperature even if you’re coming and going to work. Because you’re out of the house for around 8 hours or so, it doesn’t make sense to keep an empty home the same temperature as when you're home. In general, it’s suggested to raise the thermostat by 5 degrees or more. That means that if you prefer a comfortable 72 degrees, try adjusting it to 76-77 while you’re at work.

But you may save even more if you’re willing to further adjust the temperature. As reported by the Department of Energy, you may save nearly 10% on your HVAC expenses by making an adjustment of 7-10 degrees.

Best Thermostat Settings While on a Trip in Summer

If you're on an extended trip in the heart of summer, you can make larger adjustments. This ensures you don’t waste energy while still defending your home from the issues that come with leaving it uncooled. About 5 degrees is suitable for brief trips while a larger adjustment of 10 degrees is best if you’ll be gone for 2 weeks or longer. If you like keeping the house at 72 in the summer, 78-82 should offer great results.

Recommended Thermostat Settings While Away from Home in Winter

To try and find the best 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 lowering it to 63-58 will keep your plumbing safe while restricting how long your furnace operates.

A Smart Thermostat Can Help: Advantages of a Smart Thermostat

An ideal strategy to optimize your home’s HVAC system while out of the house is with a smart thermostat. This special type of programmable thermostat employs intelligent software to understand your preferred 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 adjust your heating and cooling with a smartphone or tablet.

Smart thermostats are packed with features to help you save on your energy bill. To provide an example, specific models can track electricity prices to boost heating or cooling when prices are more affordable. They can be used with high-efficiency, variable-speed equipment to refine how long your HVAC system should run. It’s the ideal tool to enhance how you control your comfort system. If you’re considering investing in a smart thermostat, there are different ways you can bring down your costs, effectively getting a smart thermostat for free. The next time you leave for vacation, you can appreciate true peace of mind that your HVAC system won’t stir up any trouble while you’re gone.