From a relaxing vacation or a long trip for work, taking a trip means making plans for your home comfort system. You won’t be using it while you’re on a trip, so you can adjust it as needed to conserve your energy use. Just the same, you shouldn't just turn it off for the entire time you're out of the house.

In general, it’s best to leave your HVAC system running and just raise or lower depending on the time of year. That way you can minimize energy costs without stressing about getting back to an uncomfortable home. We’ll explain why you should leave your HVAC system on as well as the ideal thermostat settings for different times of year.

This Is Why You Shouldn’t Leave Your Thermostat Alone

While you may be wanting to shut your HVAC system down before a trip, this could end up stirring up big problems by the time you come back. This is notably true when the weather will be severely hot or cold while you’re gone.

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

And during the winter, not using the furnace can lead to pipes freezing up or even bursting. It’s exhausting to return home from a vacation only to come across extensive water damage near a broken pipe.

Ideal Thermostat Settings While at Work

You can adjust the temperature even as you come and go to work. Considering you’re not home for about 8 hours or longer, it doesn’t help your monthly energy bill to keep an empty home at the same temperature you’d usually have. As a general rule, it’s suggested to adjust the thermostat by 5 degrees or more. That means that if you prefer a comfortable 72 degrees, try raising it to 76-77 while you’re gone.

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

Ideal Thermostat Settings While on Vacation in Summer

If you leave for an extended trip in the hottest part of summer, you can make bigger adjustments. This helps you avoid using too much energy while still defending your home from the issues that come with leaving it uncooled. Something like 5 degrees is recommended for short trips while around 10 degrees is ideal 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 the best results.

Ideal Thermostat Settings While on Vacation in Winter

To try and find the ideal thermostat setting for a winter vacation, just lower the temperature by the same amount you would adjust it in summer. 68 is a popular winter thermostat setting, so turning it down to 63-58 will keep your plumbing safe while limiting how long your furnace operates.

A Smart Thermostat Can Help: Benefits of a Smart Thermostat

An ideal strategy to regulate your home’s HVAC system while away from home is with a smart thermostat. This special type of programmable thermostat uses intelligent software to understand your usual comfort habits. It applies these preferences and makes automatic adjustments to the schedule for better energy efficiency. And with Wi-Fi connectivity, you can remotely adjust your HVAC system from a mobile device or tablet.

Smart thermostats are stuffed with features to help you save even more. For example, specific models can track electricity prices to boost 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 simplify how you use your comfort system. If you’re thinking about investing in a smart thermostat, there are a variety of ways you can reduce your costs, in essence getting a smart thermostat for free. The next time you leave for vacation, you can receive true peace of mind that your HVAC system won’t cause any trouble while you’re gone.