Fall is usually a great time in our region to turn the air conditioner off and fling open the windows — for just a few brief weeks before colder weather sets in. We all look forward to these periods of letting the fresh air in and reducing our use of the HVAC system, but naturally, you should do so with some provisos.
Does anyone in your family have fall allergies? Is your home near an area where fumes from traffic congestion is a problem? In times of rainy weather, is your home subject to mold? These and other issues may affect when and if you turn off the HVAC and open the windows.
But if you do decide to close windows and keep the air conditioning or heating on, what should your fall HVAC settings be?
Setting the Thermostat for Fall
While you may opt to turn your HVAC system off during pleasant weather, it’s good to know the optimum settings for running the HVAC in the fall.
In general, 68 degrees is considered the optimum indoor temperature for cooler weather. While that may seem a bit too cool to some, the recommendations are that in the home, occupants can wear layers of clothing, if needed. to keep warmer during the daytime, and can cover up at night as needed. In fact, to save money on the utility bill, you may even want to adjust the thermostat a few degrees downward for the periods when you’re away from home (at work or school) or sleeping.
Maintaining this type of schedule is easy with a programmable or Wi-fi thermostat. With an analog thermostat, you will have to get up and reset the thermostat as needed.
Eliminating Mold, Other Allergens
Fall’s wet weather and various allergens can adversely affect indoor air quality in our region. That means closing windows to keep the pollutants out. Just make sure when you do, you use a good quality air filter, and change it regularly.
For more on fall HVAC settings or to schedule repairs, maintenance or a new installation, contact Ace Hardware Home Services.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
