When you’re getting ready for a summer vacation, there a number of things that you need to remember, and it can be hard to focus. For many of the lure of the beach will distract us, and we are more than ready for a well deserved break. But, if you don’t prepare your air conditioning system for your upcoming vacation, you may be cooling an empty home and unnecessarily spending money on energy bills. In this article, we will show you how to get your air conditioning system ready for your next vacation.
Setting the Thermostat
The main consideration for many people is adjusting their thermostat for an extended period when the home may be empty. If you have pets that will be staying in the home, your thermostat setting will be very different compared to an empty house.
After all, a pet needs a cool environment if it’s hot outside, they need access to fresh, clean air, and they can suffer from heat related illness much like a human. So, if you plan on leaving your pet at home, it’s very important to leave the air conditioning system on to keep them safe and happy. If your pet has some sort of pre-existing medical condition that would make it susceptible to heat, it’s advisable to set the thermostat at 80ºF. The drapes or shades should be drawn on the windows that face the sun, and this will help to keep the home cool during the hottest parts of the day.
If you don’t have a pet, you can set the thermostat higher than 80ºF, but it’s important that you don’t turn the air conditioning system off completely. If stagnant hot air is allowed to build up inside your home during the middle of a hot summer, the interior will become as hot and humid as a sauna. These conditions could cause a great deal of damage in your home to materials, such as wood, wallpaper, drywall, and sheetrock. Some of these surfaces could crack or warp, and you may return from your vacation to discover a major DIY project or worse waiting for you. These steamy, hot conditions can also cause your refrigerator to work harder; this may damage the compressor unit and cause it to break down. Other items, such as houseplants, makeup, dried foods, photographs, artwork, and even bottles of delicate wine, can all be damaged by prolonged exposure to theses steamy conditions.
If you’re leaving an empty home behind you can set the thermostat to around 85ºF to protect the contents of your home. If you live in a more humid climate, you could even set the temperature a few degrees lower than this to ensure that the air conditioner runs more often. Many people are unaware that their air conditioner doesn’t just remove heat; it also removed humidity from the home at the same time. If excessive humidity is allowed to build up while you are away, it can promote the growth of mildew or mold in your home.
Upgrading Your Thermostat
Many homeowners just set the thermostat manually as they leave their home, and this is the full extent of their interaction with their HVAC system. In principle, this is fine, but it’s essential to realize that there are other ways to interact with a thermostat. In fact, using some of the newer programmable or smart thermostat features can save a considerable amount of money on energy bills. Installing a new and more intelligent thermostat will cost money initially, but in many cases, this return on investment is quickly recouped with lower energy bills over the year. These types of thermostats can give a degree of control over your home cooling that would have been unimaginable even a few years ago.
Using an older set it and leave thermostat will keep the air conditioning running for the entire time that you are away. The HVAC system will run at the set temperature even at night when there is less of a need for cooling. If you have pets that need feeding or plants that need watering, you may have a friend or neighbor that can adjust the thermostat for you. But, if that person forgets to adjust the unit, you may be wasting energy for no reason.
Using a programmable or smart thermostat is a better way to control the temperature in your home. Certain programmable thermostats have a feature that will allow you to set a lower temperature for a specific specified future date. Other programmable thermostats are more basic with a timing unit that will enable you to adjust the temperature throughout the day, but with no provision for future dates. For many homeowners, this may be enough, but cooling technology has moved on and switching to a smart thermostat will offer more control.
A smart thermostat can be controlled directly on the unit in the same manner as any other unit. But, this type of thermostat can also be controlled remotely through a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or a desktop computer. The smart thermostat is connected to the Wi-Fi network in your home, and it can be controlled via a dedicated app on your favorite device. This offers the homeowner a friendly and easy to use interface that they can use to monitor and control their air conditioning system from anywhere. The thermostat can be set with a timing function that can be adjusted in real time. Programming a cooling and heating schedule is easy, and you will receive detailed information on energy efficiency to make adjustments that can save you money.
Fall and Winter Trips
If you’re planning on a vacation in the fall or during the winter months, the basic principles shown above still apply. A home with a pet will need to be kept warmer than an empty home, but you don’t want to turn the heating system off entirely. If you have pets set the thermostat to 65ºF and they should be happy. If your home will be empty set the thermostat to 50ºF to avoid lower home temperatures that could cause damage. A home that gets too cold could suffer from frozen interior water pipes and a deterioration of certain delicate materials.