When you’re getting ready to leave for summer vacation, there are many things on your mind. One of these is what temperature you should set your air conditioner to help save energy when you’re not going to be at home. While you may be tempted just to turn your entire conditioning system off, you should avoid doing so.
Excess Heat and Humidity
Most homeowners think that it’s just best to turn their entire air conditioning systems off when they leave town. Because no one’s at home, they figure that they don’t need to waste money on energy to run the air conditioner. The reality is that without your air conditioner running, your home’s interior will be exposed to excess heat and humidity.
The combination of heat and humidity can create the perfect environment for unwanted mold and mildew growth. These can be extremely dangerous to your family’s health. Both mold and mildew can grow quickly in a short period of time. In fact, they can double their numbers in a matter of a day.
Wood Damage
It’s likely that you have some wood furniture throughout your home. For example, think about your bed frame or your coffee table. When your air conditioning system is no longer running, it’s not dehumidifying the air in your home. This excess humidity can wreak havoc on the wood surfaces in your home. It can cause warping, bloating, and other forms of damage.
Insect Invasion
Many insects thrive in environments where humidity levels are above 55%. Without your home air conditioning system running to reduce the humidity level, there’s no telling how high the humidity will get inside of your home while you’re on vacation. Just like mold and mildew, insects can invade your home very quickly and grow in numbers overnight.
Ideal Temperature Settings
Most air conditioning experts agree that you should not have your indoor air temperature set any higher than 84 degrees when you go on vacation. This holds true for most cases where the outdoor temperature only gets into the high 90s. It’s important for your air conditioning system to run a couple of times throughout the day to help cool your home and to dehumidify it. It’s a good rule of thumb to set your thermostat a few degrees below what the daily temperature is outside in your area.
Use a Smart Thermostat
One great tip that can help ensure that you always have the right temperature set on your thermostat is to install a smart thermostat. This will allow you access to the temperature settings from anywhere you can connect to the internet with your smartphone. For example, let’s say that you set your thermostat at 84 degrees when the temperature in your area has been in the mid-90s.
However, a couple of days into your vacation, your hometown goes through a cold spell during which the temperatures dropped to the mid-80s. In this scenario, it’s likely that your initial thermostat setting of 84 degrees isn’t going to kick on your air conditioning system. This can leave your home susceptible to high humidity levels.
When you have a smart thermostat, you can check the temperatures that your hometown is experiencing while you’re on vacation, and as soon as you notice that the temperatures are dipping down into the mid-80s, you can set your thermostat to a lower temperature. This will help to ensure that your air conditioning system kicks on at least a couple of times throughout the day to remove the excess humidity from the air.
Keep Pets in Mind
If you’re going to be leaving your pets at home by themselves while you’re out on vacation and just having someone stop by a couple of times a day to take care of them, you’ll need to take your furry friends’ well-being into consideration. Most animal experts recommend setting your home thermostat at 78 to 80 degrees when you have pets at home. You may need to experiment a little bit to determine what temperature your pets feel comfortable in, or you might want to ask your veterinarian for a suggestion.
Dependable AC Service
Breckinridge Heating & Cooling is here to help all residents throughout the Louisville area with their air conditioning needs. We provide both heating and cooling installation, preventative maintenance, and repairs. Just give us a call today!
