From a relaxing vacation or a lengthy trip for work, leaving home means making plans for your home comfort system. You don't need it if you’re not home, so you can adjust the temperature as appropriate to minimize your energy use. Just the same, you don’t want to just shut it down for the entire time you're gone.

In general, it’s better to leave your HVAC system running and just raise or lower depending on the time of year. That way you can reduce energy costs without worrying about coming back to an uncomfortable home. We’ll explain why you should leave your HVAC system on as well as the most energy-efficient thermostat settings for summer and winter.

This Is Why You Shouldn’t Leave Your Thermostat on Hold

While you may be wanting to shut your HVAC system down before a trip, this can end up causing big problems by the time you return. This is notably true in case the weather will be severely hot or cold while you’re out of town.

For instance, turning the HVAC system down during the summer can cause 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, letting your house get cold will sometimes lead to pipes freezing up or even bursting. It’s an awful feeling to return home from a vacation only to discover substantial water damage close to a broken pipe.

Ideal Thermostat Settings While at Work

You can optimize the temperature even if you’re coming and going to work. Since you’re out of the house for around 8 hours or so, it doesn’t seem sensible to keep an empty home at the same temperature you’d usually have. As a general rule, it’s recommended to turn up the thermostat by 5 degrees or so. That means that if you prefer a comfortable 72 degrees, try raising it to 76-77 while you’re out.

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

Ideal Thermostat Settings While Away from Home in Summer

If you’re leaving for an extended trip in the middle 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 without air conditioning. Around 5 degrees is recommended for shorter trips while a larger adjustment of 10 degrees is best if you’ll be out of town for 2 weeks or more. If you enjoy keeping the house at 72 in the summer, 78-82 can offer great results.

Ideal Thermostat Settings While Away from Home in Winter

To try and find the most energy-efficient thermostat setting for a winter trip, consider lowering 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 prevent ice from forming on pipes while restricting how often your furnace runs.

Smart Thermostats Are Even Better: Advantages of a Smart Thermostat

An ideal strategy to optimize your home’s HVAC system while away from home is using a smart thermostat. This advanced type of programmable thermostat employs intelligent software to monitor your preferred comfort habits. It learns these preferences and makes automatic corrections to the schedule for better energy efficiency. And with Wi-Fi compatibility, you can remotely access your heating and cooling with a mobile device or tablet.

Smart thermostats are loaded 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 more affordable. They can also work with high-efficiency, variable-speed equipment to refine how long your HVAC system should run. It’s the optimal tool to enhance how you control your comfort system. If you’re planning on investing in a smart thermostat, there are multiple ways you can bring down your costs, in essence 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 cause any trouble while you’re away from home.