From a relaxing vacation or a lengthy trip for work, leaving home means making plans for your HVAC system. You won’t be using it if you’re not home, so you can adjust it as appropriate to limit your energy use. At the same time, you shouldn't just leave 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 season. That way you can lower energy costs without having to worry about coming back to an uncomfortable home. We’ll explain why you shouldn’t turn your HVAC system off as well as the ideal thermostat settings for different times of year.

Here’s Why You Avoid Leaving Your Thermostat on Hold

While you might be wanting to leave your HVAC system off before a trip, this could end up leading to costly problems by the time you get back. This is notably true when the weather will be severely hot or cold while you’re gone.

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

And over the winter, leaving the furnace off might lead to pipes freezing up or even bursting. It’s never fun to get home from a nice trip only to find substantial water damage close to a broken pipe.

Ideal Thermostat Settings While at Work

You can adjust the temperature even as you come and go to work. Since 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 recommended to turn up the thermostat by 5 degrees or more. That means that if you prefer a comfortable 72 degrees, think about raising it to 76-77 while you’re at work.

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

Energy-Efficient Thermostat Settings While on Vacation in Summer

If you’re leaving for a longer trip in the heart of summer, you can make more significant adjustments. This helps you avoid using too much energy while still safeguarding your home from the issues that come with leaving it un-air conditioned. Around 5 degrees is appropriate for brief trips while a larger adjustment of 10 degrees is worthwhile if you’ll be out of town for 2 weeks or longer. If you like keeping the house at 72 in the summer, 78-82 should offer great results.

Ideal Thermostat Settings While on Vacation in Winter

To determine the best thermostat setting for a winter trip, consider lowering the temperature by the same amount you would increase it in summer. 68 is a common winter thermostat setting, so turning it down to 63-58 will protect your plumbing while minimizing how frequently your furnace operates.

A Smart Thermostat Can Help: Advantages of a Smart Thermostat

A great way to optimize your home’s HVAC system while away from home 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 changes to the schedule for maximum energy efficiency. And with Wi-Fi integration, you can remotely access your heating and cooling from a smart device like a phone or tablet.

Smart thermostats are packed with features to help you save even more. For example, some models can track electricity prices to bolster heating or cooling when prices are lower. They can also work with high-efficiency, variable-speed equipment to fine-tune how long your HVAC system has to run. It’s the ideal tool to streamline how you use your comfort system. If you’re planning on investing in a smart thermostat, there are multiple ways you can lower your costs, essentially 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 stir up any trouble while you’re gone.