Vacationing and HVAC
When leaving for a vacation, it can be easy to overlook the steps needed to prepare your home for temporary vacancy. You might ask a neighbor to pick up your mail, water your plants, and walk your dog, but home maintenance can fall by the wayside.
When leaving on vacation, it can be tempting to turn off your fan coil, read on, you might want to reconsider.
THE IMPORTANCE
Of leaving your HVAC on
Since you won’t be home to enjoy the cool air coming from your Fan coil air conditioning, it probably seems like it would be safe to turn it off. But to avoid damage to your home, just like during the winter, it’s necessary to maintain a consistent indoor temperature.
While it may be tempting to save some money by turning off your fan coil, it’s not recommended. In fact, it could end up costing you more money by creating problems around the house.
THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS
Of turning off you HVAC on summer vacation
1. High Humidity
Air conditioning in summer doesn’t just cool down your home, it also controls the humidity levels. For optimum comfort and health, the humidity in your house should be no higher than 50%. If it’s higher than that, you run into condensation and common humidity-related problems like:
- Mold
- Musty smells and odors
- Peeling paint
- Warped wood furniture (floors, cabinets, etc.)
2. Stress on Other Appliances
Televisions, video game systems, alarm systems—most modern homes are full of electronics. Underneath the electronics’ casings or cabinets are a configuration of sensitive circuits that have been soldered together. High temperatures can melt soldering and fry circuits, ultimately ruining the devices. Allowing your home to reach high temperatures can cause the following damage to electronics:
- Melted circuits
- Damaged motors
- Cracked screens
THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS
Of turning off you HVAC on winter vacation
You might figure that since you’re not home, it doesn’t really matter if your home’s indoor temperature falls to 40 or even 30 degrees F. However, your heating system exists for reasons other than simply keeping you warm. Allowing your home to become too cold could cause damage to building materials, appliances, and even decorative items like paintings and photos.
Even in the spring and fall, when temperatures are milder, there may be the occasional freezing day. You don’t want to turn your heat off and potentially subject your home to those freezing temperatures.
Another reason not to turn the heat off is your pipes. Your plumbing system is designed to be kept warm to some degree. Residential HVAC contractors / manufacturer do not recommend turning your heat off while you’re on vacation because this may cause your pipes to freeze. As the water expands inside your pipe, it can cause the pipes to burst, leading to extensive flooding. Keep the heat on, and you’re far less likely to come home to a flooded home.
STEPS TO FOLLOW
When you're on vacation
- If you’re only going to be gone for a few days, it’s best to keep your HVAC around the same temperature you normally keep it at. For longer stints, you can go ahead and set your thermostat anywhere between 85-90 degrees. If your trip is during a colder season, then set the thermostat to a lower temperature (no lower than 50 degrees). Of course, you will need to set the thermostat differently if you have pets or anyone staying in your house while you are gone. This should run your fan coil enough to remove excess humidity and keep other parts of your home safe.
- Close the window treatments (blinds and curtains) on your windows. It helps prevent the hot or cold temperatures outside from affecting your space and making your HVAC system work more.
- Change your air filter before leaving, so the HVAC system isn’t working harder than it needs to while you’re gone, isn’t circulating dirty air around your house and won’t be prone to any issues when you’re unavailable.
- Schedule an HVAC maintenance appointment to ensure your system is running properly and efficiently before you leave for your trip.
- For most homeowners who are going on vacation for a week or two, it’s probably best to keep your fan coil air conditioner on. But there’s no need to cool your entire home the same way you normally do—so turn your thermostat up. If you use a programmable thermostat, look for a vacation, hold, or away function. These settings will keep your thermostat from cooling your home on your normal schedule. There is variety of Thermostat brands in market available Such as Honeywell or Ecobee Smart thermostat with great options like vacation mode and occupancy sensors on board where you can adjust the thermostat remotely through your smartphone, tablet, or computer.
