Whether it’s a tropical vacation or a long trip for work, traveling means making plans for your home comfort system. You don't need it if you’re on a trip, so you can adjust the temperature as necessary to conserve your energy use. At the same time, you shouldn't just shut it down for the entire time you're gone.

Instead, it’s best to leave your HVAC system on and just raise or lower depending on whether it's winter or summer. That way you can minimize energy costs without worrying 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.

Here’s Why You Don't Leave Your Thermostat Alone

While you could be wanting to turn your HVAC system off before a trip, this can end up leading to annoying problems by the time you get back. This is notably true in case the weather will be severely hot or cold while you’re away from home.

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

And over the winter, not using the furnace might lead to pipes icing over or even bursting. It’s an awful feeling to come home from a nice trip only to find considerable 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 8 hours or more, it doesn’t seem sensible to keep an empty home the same temperature as when you're home. As a general rule, it’s encouraged to turn up the thermostat by 5 degrees or so. This means that if you prefer a comfortable 72 degrees, consider raising it to 76-77 while you’re gone.

But you could save even more if you’re willing to further adjust the temperature. As reported by the Department of Energy, you might save about 10% on your HVAC costs by raising the temperature by about 7-10 degrees.

Energy-Efficient Thermostat Settings While Away from Home in Summer

If you’re leaving for a longer trip in the heart of summer, you can make bigger adjustments. This prevents wasting energy while still defending your home from the hassles that come with leaving it un-air conditioned. Around 5 degrees is appropriate for short trips while closer to 10 degrees is worthwhile if you’ll be gone for 2 weeks or longer. If you like keeping the house at 72 in the summer, 78-82 will offer great results.

Recommended Thermostat Settings While on Vacation in Winter

To determine the most energy-efficient thermostat setting for a winter vacation, simply lower it by the same amount you would adjust it in summer. 68 is a popular winter thermostat setting, so lowering it to 63-58 will protect your plumbing while restricting how often your furnace runs.

A Smart Thermostat Can Help: Advantages of a Smart Thermostat

An ideal strategy to regulate your home’s HVAC system while out of the house is using a smart thermostat. This innovative type of programmable thermostat utilizes intelligent software to understand your typical comfort habits. It learns these preferences and makes automatic changes to the schedule for higher energy efficiency. And with Wi-Fi compatibility, you can remotely adjust your heating and cooling with a mobile device or tablet.

Smart thermostats are packed with features to help you save on your energy bill. To provide an example, certain models can monitor electricity prices to bolster heating or cooling when prices are lowest. They can be used with high-efficiency, variable-speed equipment to optimize 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 different ways you can bring down your costs, essentially getting a smart thermostat for free. The next time you are away from home, you can receive true peace of mind that your HVAC system won’t cause any trouble while you’re away from home.