Whether you’re on vacation or putting your Annapolis, Maryland, home on the market, you need to know how to set the thermostat for a vacant house. You may even have a vacation rental or summer home in another state that sits empty at some point during the year. It’s often difficult to know exactly how to handle your thermostat when no one is in the house. Here are some tips for setting the thermostat when you’re away.
Heading on Vacation
Before heading out on vacation, there are important factors to consider before setting your thermostat. How long you’re away, the time of year and whether you have pets in your home will determine the best temperature for your empty house.
If you have pets in the home, you need to be considerate of their needs before changing the temperature. Don’t change the temperature dramatically from the day-to-day settings of your home and, of course, have friends or family visit to feed and care for your pets while you’re away.
If you don’t have pets in the home, you have a little more leeway in setting the temperature while you’re on vacation. If you’re only going away for the weekend, don’t change the temperature more than a couple of degrees. It’ll take just as much energy to restore your home to a comfortable temperature when you return as it does to leave the thermostat the same for a short time.
If you’re going away for a week during hot or cold months, lower or raise the temperature to save energy. However, you shouldn’t turn off your air conditioning or heating completely. In the winter, your pipes may freeze and burst. In the summer, you could increase the humidity and the chance of mold growth.
Vacation Rentals
If you have a seasonal vacation rental, it’s likely unoccupied for several weeks at a time. Even when you have a rental that’s used in every season, there are likely times when the house will sit empty. The same rules apply for a vacation rental as your primary home when it’s empty.
If you only have a couple of days between renters, it isn’t worth it to make drastic changes during that time. Leave a note requesting the occupants to set the thermostat at a certain temperature when they leave the house to save energy.
If the house will sit empty all winter, make sure you don’t turn off the heat completely. You don’t want to run the risk of freezing pipes and other plumbing issues. The exception is if your vacation rental is somewhere where the temperature never drops below freezing. You still want someone to stop by the house every once in a while to air it out, since you won’t have much ventilation with your HVAC system turned off through the entire winter.
Vacant While on the Market
When you’re selling your home and not living in it, it’s a little more complicated to set the temperature. You don’t want to waste a lot of energy on heating or cooling an empty home, but you want to make sure the home is comfortable when people come to see the house. The problem is how to adjust the temperature efficiently without having to rush over to the house anytime a potential buyer is visiting.
Invest in a smart thermostat when you list your home on the market. Instead of having to go to the house to adjust the temperature, you can change it using your mobile device. You can set the home at a comfortable temperature during showings and adjust it to save energy in the interim.
The smart thermostat is also a bonus for potential home buyers. Technological and energy-efficient features make them an especially savvy buy. You save time and energy by setting the thermostat from your device, and you may even win points with potential buyers for the upgrade.
If you have questions about your HVAC system, we’re the people to call. Contact Coastal HVAC at 410-919-0110 to speak with an experienced professional today.
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