I could not even imagine that people don't turn it off. I don't use AC when DH is not home anyway, only fans. AC is for DH. Kids and I don't care. I have to sleep in a different room during summer as I can't sleep in the ice box.

I use the vacation programmer and set it to about 82, to return to normal on the day we're scheduled to return.

I think the away settings on our Nest are 82/62.

Anonymous wrote:78. One time I turned it off. When I came home the house was an oven and I literally dropped my bags, turned the A/C on to like 65, and left the house for two hours. The following month my bill was HUNDREDS of dollars. I was told going forward to just turn the thermostat up, but never off.

Sounds like if you left your AV on while you were on vacation, your bill would have been THOUSANDS of dollars. There is no point in telling us that your bill was hundreds of dollars if you give no point of comparison.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Somewhat related, I read some tips that our local police officer sent out, to prevent burglaries during summer, and one of them is to leave the A.C. running when you are away.
Apparently the AC not running on a 90 degree day is a clear signal to burglars that family is away.

But how would a burglar know this until he had entered your house?

You don't hear the compressors running all over your neighborhood?

Compressors don't run 24x7. They cool the house down and then they stop until the temperature of the house goes up and then they kick on. Unless a burglar watches your compressor for a few hours, how would they know that your compressor isn't turning on and off? There are easier ways to know if a family is home without watching the compressor for a few hours - like ringing the doorbell.

78. One time I turned it off. When I came home the house was an oven and I literally dropped my bags, turned the A/C on to like 65, and left the house for two hours. The following month my bill was HUNDREDS of dollars. I was told going forward to just turn the thermostat up, but never off.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Somewhat related, I read some tips that our local police officer sent out, to prevent burglaries during summer, and one of them is to leave the A.C. running when you are away.
Apparently the AC not running on a 90 degree day is a clear signal to burglars that family is away.

But how would a burglar know this until he had entered your house?

You don't hear the compressors running all over your neighborhood?

Anonymous wrote:Somewhat related, I read some tips that our local police officer sent out, to prevent burglaries during summer, and one of them is to leave the A.C. running when you are away.
Apparently the AC not running on a 90 degree day is a clear signal to burglars that family is away.

But how would a burglar know this until he had entered your house?

Anonymous wrote:80 in the summer, 62 in the winter.

This. We don't have a remote control one, so it's a bit uncomfortable for the first hour or two after we get home but it's not unbearable. First thing I do after turning off the house alarm is adjust the thermostat.

Somewhat related, I read some tips that our local police officer sent out, to prevent burglaries during summer, and one of them is to leave the A.C. running when you are away.
Apparently the AC not running on a 90 degree day is a clear signal to burglars that family is away.

In summer, I set the AC at 80, in fall, spring, and winter I turn heat down to 55. Even if it is quite warm out, I still switch the thermostat over to heat if I'm gone in the fall or spring just in case of a surprise freeze.

80 in the summer, 62 in the winter.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1

I got a honeywell wifi one for about $60 on amazon.