[frostola]

What is a good temp to set the thermostat at while on vacation during the summer months?

[dewilson58]

82.

[OpusX1]

When I was a snowbird I would set mine at 87 during the day and 84 at night, that way the ac would always come. On once a day to circulate the air. Never had a mold or mildew problem. This only works if you have a programmable thermostat.

[retiredguy123]

There is a de-humidify setting that will over-cool the temperature setting by about 3 degrees when the humidity is high. So, if you set the temperature to 82, it will cool the house down to 79 only when the humidity goes above the humidity setting.

[anothersteve]

And keep the ceiling fans on low just to keep the air circulating
Steve

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by anothersteve

And keep the ceiling fans on low just to keep the air circulating
Steve

I advise against this. First the enemy of a vacant home is mold. Ceiling fans do not inhibit mold, dry air does.

Your goal is 60% or less.

I have a humidity monitor, anything above 84 routinely trips the alarm.

Second point on the ceiling fans: if you run four at low you will consume 57.6 KwH of electricity. This is a 80% increase in your vampire electricity load. It is simply a waste of money. Use that money to run your ac an extra 23.5 hours in a month.

How do I know this? I have a electricity monitor which checks the draw 10,000 times a second. It has been helpful to discuss or decide the benefits of electricity usage, as well as identify problems.

[anothersteve]

Originally Posted by Toymeister

I advise against this. First the enemy of a vacant home is mold. Ceiling fans do not inhibit mold, dry air does.

Your goal is 60% or less.

I have a humidity monitor, anything above 84 routinely trips the alarm.

Second point on the ceiling fans: if you run four at low you will consume 57.6 KwH of electricity. This is a 80% increase in your vampire electricity load. It is simply a waste of money. Use that money to run your ac an extra 23.5 hours in a month.

How do I know this? I have a electricity monitor which checks the draw 10,000 times a second. It has been helpful to discuss or decide the benefits of electricity usage, as well as identify problems.

I had my AC set on 81, with the ceiling fans (3), on low for six months at minimal expense. To each his own.
Steve

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by frostola

What is a good temp to set the thermostat at while on vacation during the summer months?

Install a humidistat. That way you can set your a/c to 80F and it will only kick in when the humidity is high (which is what causes mold). Leave the fans off.

[HiHoSteveO]

Originally Posted by frostola

What is a good temp to set the thermostat at while on vacation during the summer months?

Cool "Hold" temp at 82

Humidity 58-60%

No ceiling fans

[rjm1cc]

Low 80's should work. The point of the AC being on is to reduce the humidity in the air and thus reduce the possibility of mold. I have read a few articles on setting the AC to the low 70's from say midnight to 6 am to dehumidify the air. Thus dehumidifying the air once a day.

[Peterriess]

I installed a Nest thermostat. It has a setting called "Cool to Dry". It controls both temp and humidity. So far it has worked like a charm. No mold, mildew or musty odors. Munns did the installation. programed the thermostat and my iPhone for remote setting.

[Aloha1]

Temp set at 80 and ceiling fans on low. Fans help to spread the air and humidity around the room, balancing the temp which means the a/c won't come on as often. We have 2 ceiling fans on our lanai which is enclosed with glass sliders. Temps and humidity can get up pretty high in the summer so those fans stay on 24/7.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Aloha1

Temp set at 80 and ceiling fans on low. Fans help to spread the air and humidity around the room, balancing the temp which means the a/c won't come on as often. We have 2 ceiling fans on our lanai which is enclosed with glass sliders. Temps and humidity can get up pretty high in the summer so those fans stay on 24/7.

I've never left fans on when on Vaca........(the OP question)......do you leave them on for weeks at a time when away??

[ColdNoMore]

I leave my thermostat at 83 in summer and the heater at 67 in winter, so that it will hopefully come on at least a few times when I'm gone for more than a few days...but never run the fans.

The way I look at it, there is a finite number of hours on any fan...so why accelerate their demise?

[Toymeister]

Originally Posted by Aloha1

Temp set at 80 and ceiling fans on low. Fans help to spread the air and humidity around the room, balancing the temp which means the a/c won't come on as often..

With three temp monitors in the home I can assure you that the fans do not balance the temp. From one room to another the temp stays within one degree. I have been observing this remotely for three years. Day after day month after month season after season, one degree.

I can turn on the fans remotely, one degree diff, fans off same results.