[tadtam]

When you are going away for couple of months, what do you set your thermostats at.

A/C in summer?

Heat in winter?

I won't be in my house for the summer and would like to know how to set them to prevent any problems with excessive heat buildup...

Any other things I should do?

Thanks

[macgeek]

I keep mine at 60° for winter and 90° for summer, but the talk in the past is you can set the winter one even lower.

I personally disagree.

Jonathan

[crazy_bd]

I'd not go higher than 85 in the summer, but I guess it also depends on your house... if you have a lot of items that are temperature sensitive, you probably want to keep it higher in winter and lower in summer. For example, I wouldn't want to go from 60 to 90 for a hardwood floor... but this is just me guessing, no scientific backup to what I am saying.

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by macgeek

I keep mine at 60° for winter and 90° for summer, but the talk in the past is you can set the winter one even lower.

I personally disagree.

Jonathan

Why do you disagree? Or more pertinently, why do you think that you need to have it set to 60? What benefit do you get for having it set at 60 as opposed to 50 for example? (Which is about where I keep it when I leave town for 4-6 weeks.) AFAIK, the only concern one has in the winter is for the pipes not to freeze, so the heat can't be turned off completely, obviously. But 60? Why?

[macgeek]

To me a house is a living breathing creature, and that extreme changes to it can do it harm
Where 50 may be a safe temp to leave a house from keeping the pipes from freezing, what about the walls from shrinking from the cold, and buckling from the heat. we are only talking in millimeters but over time that contract / expand will form cracks, structural buckling, etc.

Also everything in your house, that 50" LCD on your wall, how do you think it feels about being in 50° environment? is it rated for that temperature? computers? clothing? whats the effect of cold on Plasma TV's?

My rule of thumb is "is is comfortable for a human"

Jonathan

[bledsoe3]

I do 45 in the winter and 90 in the summer. So far no problems.

[skisickie]

I leave my heat off in the winter and my air off in the summer. Except when someone is using my home. I always tell them to turn the theromstat off. No problems

[bayview6]

Originally Posted by skisickie

I leave my heat off in the winter and my air off in the summer. Except when someone is using my home. I always tell them to turn the theromstat off. No problems

The two things one has to do in Vegas if the AC is turned off during the summer are: (1) fill up several gallon water bottles with softened or distilled water and put them in bathtubs and sinks, and (2) (very, very important) unplug the refrigerator and keep its doors slightly opened.

If you leave the refrigerator plugged in it will be constantly pumping our hot air and raise the house temperature to very high levels.

[UTES]

Winter - Heat off.
Summer - A/C @ 85F

Bill

[gettinmymoney]

Wouldn't it just make sense economically to leave it at 68 all the time?
the a/c bill........