Picture this: You come back from a nice, long vacation… only to find an expensive energy bill waiting for you when you get back—all because you didn’t lower your thermostat before you left.
Or worse, you come home and your pipes are frozen because you set your thermostat too low when you left for your trip.
Nobody wants to be in those situations.
To avoid any problems, we recommend you set your thermostat between 50° to 60° F before you leave for vacation.
Why we recommend setting your thermostat 50° to 60° F
The short answer? Setting your thermostat no lower than 50° and no higher than 60° F will:
- Save you money on your energy bill
- Prevent your pipes from freezing
Let’s go into more detail about each of these points…
Save money on your energy bill
Turning your thermostat down while you’re on vacation reduces how much energy your heating system uses. The less energy your heating system uses, the lower your monthly utility bill will be.
Since you won’t be home to enjoy a comfortable indoor temperature (most homes set their thermostats between 65°–75° during the winter), there’s no sense in making your heating system work hard to maintain that comfort level. Instead, you can lower your thermostat to be in the 50° to 60° range to save money.
That said, we don’t recommend setting your thermostat any lower than 50° because it could put your pipes at risk (more on that below).
Prevent your pipes from freezing
Water freezes at 32° F, but setting your thermostat lower than 50° F puts your pipes at risk when you leave for a long time. However, if your indoor temperature is within the 50° to 60° range, you’ll greatly reduce the risk of your indoor pipes freezing because your home won’t drop to freezing temperatures.
You can set your thermostat higher than 60° F if you’d like, but remember the lower your set your thermostat, the less you’ll spend on your energy bill.
Now, 50° is still pretty cold—certainly colder that you normally set your thermostat while you’re at home.
Don’t want to come home to a cold house after your vacation?
We have a solution for that problem...