We have Nest, which is amazing. During the summer set the house at 84 and winter 62, when we are away. We turn it on remotely about 4-5 hrs before we get home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I shut off

Dumb.

Not really

Yes, really.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I was thinking 80 as well. Our system is old so I can't do vacation programming modes, but hopefully setting it at 80 will prevent my house from baking. Thanks PP for the reminder about turning off water.

A new thermostat is pretty cheap.

I turn the AC up to 78-80. In winter I turn heat down to 52-54
I turn the hot water down to just the pilot light.

Op here. I was thinking 80 as well. Our system is old so I can't do vacation programming modes, but hopefully setting it at 80 will prevent my house from baking. Thanks PP for the reminder about turning off water.

Shutting it off is horrible. Our HVAC people in three different homes warned us never to do that. We leave ours at 78.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I shut off

Dumb.

Not really

I set it to 80. My programmable thermostat has a vacation mode where I can set the number of days it should stay at 80. That way, it cools the house back down the day we're coming home.

Anonymous wrote:I shut off

Dumb.

Anonymous wrote:I shut off

Don't!

Our longtime AC/heating service company said never turn off AC while away in summer in this humid area because if you house sits there heating up day after day you run the risk of mold etc. Think of the days and days of storms we often get in summer, drenching the atmosphere, and how humid the interior of your house will get with no air on.

Also--DO turn off your main water line when you're away! Learned that after friends came home to a seriously ruined basement and foundation problems after a week-long leak. Three different plumbers over the years have confirmed to me that they always turn off their own homes' main water when they leave town. It gives me greater peace of mind to know that if the toilet leaks, or even the water heater, the leak will only be the amount of what was in a tank--it won't keep leaking as it refills from main water for days on end. It does not hurt your plumbing at all to cut off water (unless it's winter and pipes could freeze unless water's dripping through them--summer, it's fine).

We have a nest that we can control from afar. So we adjust the A/C to turn on at around 80 or 82 but the day that we're returning we set it to a normal temp when we leave our destination so the house is relatively cool when we arrive.

80. Upstairs is 84 but we don’t really use that space. We have it timed so it’ll come back down to 74 the morning of our arrival home.

I shut off

78, but our cleaning lady comes while we are away.

When you travel in the peak of summer heat, what temperature do you set your A/C to? One year I turned it off completely and when I returned, it was 96 degrees inside! Whoops.