Take some time for vacation HVAC prep and make sure your house is comfortable and efficient when you get home. While there may be some natural tendency to shut down all systems while you’re gone, for anything longer than a weekend getaway, that’s probably not a good idea for these reasons:
- In an enclosed house with no A/C or ventilation, temperatures can easily spike well above 100 degrees on a typical summer day in our climate. Prolonged extreme heat can be damaging to certain possessions, sensitive electronics, artwork and even structure such as wood flooring.
- Without the dehumidifying function of a central air conditioner, the interior of a home will also swelter due to soaring humidity. Toxic mold growth is triggered by high humidity and temperatures above 85 degrees—a certainty if the air conditioner’s shut down.
So what to do before you leave?
Here are some suggestions for vacation HVAC prep:
- Make sure your system air filter, is clean and does not need to be replaced.
- Verify that all supply and return air vents in the house are fully open and unobstructed.
- Make sure all doors and windows are closed and close blinds or draw curtains on sun-facing windows.
- Electronics can increase the heating load inside an enclosed house. Unplug any non-essentials.
- The EPA recommends setting the thermostat to 85 degrees for an unoccupied house. Also make sure the thermostat fan setting is “Auto” instead of “On” so the fan doesn’t run continuously while you’re gone.
- Upgrade your thermostat. If you’re not using a programmable thermostat, you may like to consider one now, before you leave. In addition to programming temperatures to fit your daily schedule while you’re home, most models also include a dedicated “Vacation” setting to keep temperatures in an unoccupied house at safe levels around the clock. Even better, wi-fi programmable thermostats also allow you to remotely monitor the status of your home environment as well as adjust temperatures with a phone or laptop app from anywhere in the world.
Before you go, ask the professionals at Jackson & Sons for more tips about vacation HVAC prep. Then, have a great trip.
Jackson & Sons, Inc.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Eastern North Carolina (including Wayne, Johnston, Greene, Lenoir, Pitt and Duplin Counties) about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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