Thermostat while away from home.
 

Tenant is leaving end of August. I will be there in middle of October. Wondering about thermostat until then. Various opinions and have emailed twice to Mid-Flame heating & air with promises to get back to me but have not.
So — Honeywell Thermostat Pro series is set for 75 and the Honeywell Relative Humidity, the knob is turned all the way to “on”. What is the suggestion for leaving the property vacant for about 6 weeks. And, I find it odd that the Humidistat (Honeywell Relative Humidity) knob is in the ON position at all times. Would love feedback on this. Do not want to come and find mold growing up the walls or a burned out unit due to excessive use. And, curious about this Honeywell Relative Humidity thermostat. We do not have on in New York. Thanks. Nancy

In our other house when we were snowbirds we used 80 degrees temp and 60% humidity. We also left all the closet and cabinets open ( suggested per our home inspector)

I would set the thermostat to the "hold" position (no programming) and set the temperature setting to 78 or 80 degrees. I would turn off the humidity control. That is the way I have my thermostat set all the time and have no problems.

I just came back from checking the Thermostat and Humidistat at a neighbor's house. It was 92 degrees in the house and the humidistat was set at 60. I sent a picture of both to him. He was pleased. Greatest neighbors in The Villages. We miss them like crazy.

If it was my home the A/C would be on 78 Degrees and that's that. Humidistat, Phooey! :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl: You coulda cooked an egg on the countertop! :popcorn: :1rotfl:

I asked my neighbor if he wanted me to turn off his doorbell each night, cheapazz! :1rotfl::1rotfl::duck:

Running the a/c removes moisture from the air. When the home is not occupied, it isn't necessary to cool the home, but it is necessary to control moisture. The humidistat's purpose is to reduce the cycling of the a/c, but still keep the humidity level in check. My instructions from Munn's call for the humidistat to be set at 60%, and thermostat to 78 degrees. Think of it as a switch between the a/c and the thermostat. In effect, the a/c won't come on until the humidity gets higher than 60%, then the humidistat switches on, which allows the a/c to run until the humidity gets below 60%. Regardless of how hot it gets. The temperature inside an unoccupied home is essentially irrelevant, the moisture is what needs to be regulated.

When the home is occupied, the humidstat is set to "on", and the thermostat set to whatever temperature the occupant finds comfortable. Since the humidstat "switch" is always on, it doesn't interfere with the a/c coming on to make the house comfortable.

I agree about the phooey comment. The typical HVAC system installed by the builder does not have a "real" humidity control function. If you set the temperature to 78 or 80 degrees, you don't need to do anything else. There is an optional humidity setting that works to "overcool" the house by about 3 degress (down to 75 or 77) when the humidity goes above the humidity setting. This will reduce the humidity somewhat, but will usually not reduce it to your humidity set point. The only advantage to using the humidity control is that, you may save a little electricity because you can set the temperature higher and achieve some humidity control. But, I think it is best to just turn off the humidity function and maintain a constant temperature in the house, with no overcooling. Your house will be fine, and you will not have a moisture problem.

The idea is to prevent mold caused by the humidity in Florida and your air conditioner reduces home humidity. While you are away, you can prevent mold by either leaving your air conditioner on continuously using a humidity control device to turn the air conditioner on and off. I set the air conditioner at 85 degrees (it doesn't have to be cooler - no one is home) and the humidity control at 65. While away, the air conditioner is off until the two conditions are met - temp above 85 and humidity above 65. This has worked well during my 10 years here.

The possibility of mold and mildew grow at humidity 68%+ humidistat can be off 10 points is why it should be set around 58 to 60. Mold and Mildew do not become evident at temperatures even at 90 degrees providing setting are below 68%. Humidistat will save money on Ac costs. For years we have enjoyed savings being away our bill is less than $35. Yes we do have a friend monitor our dwelling from April til November. Prior to installation our thermostat was set at 79 degrees our electric bill had been around $120 monthly. Also we unplug unnecessary small appliances that use power in standby mode tv, radios, vcr/dvd microwave. Also a full refrigerator runs less than an empty one prior to out leaving we fill refrigerator with bottled water for our return

We have an older HVAC system that does not have a humidistat feature. When not there we set the thermostat at 81. Keeping the house at that temperature keeps the humidity below 60%. I know this because I keep two dehumidifiers in the house set to run when the humidity reaches 60% as an insurance policy against mold should our A/C fail. The dehumidifiers drain into the kitchen sink and a walk in shower through a hose attached to the water retention tank on the dehumidifiers. I have never had to empty a drop of water from either of those tanks so I know the humidity remains below 60%. Just to check the accuracy of the dehumidifiers, when I increase the setting to 65%, they quickly start sucking water out of the air.

Last night my AC stopped working because it needed new batteries. Never realized AC needs thermostat to be working in order for AC to work.
Something to think about when leaving for a long period of time (like snowbirds)

[QUOTE=gatorbill1;1822565]Last night my AC stopped working because it needed new batteries. Never realized AC needs thermostat to be working in order for AC to work.
Som

ething to think about when leaving for a long period of time (like


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I bought a Temp Stick on line to monitor the temperature and humidity in my house when we are away during the summer. It takes a reading every hour of the day and I can monitor from my cell phone. It will alert me if either the temperature or humidity exceeds a set point.

Thanks for replying. Much appreciated and puts my mind at ease. Nancy

Thermostat
 

SunKool told me to switch it to 80 and leave it there.

Thermostat
 

Munns recommended 80 degrees and 60% humidity and leaving closet doors and room doors open for best ventilation flow. However, I chose to set our thermostat at 78 degrees when we are not there. We bought new in the Villages and our house came with an Ecobee thermostat which I highly recommend for temperature control. The Munns representative came to our house and showed me how to get the Ecobee app on my iphone. I can now monitor and change the temperature in our Villages house from wherever I am. Real easy to use and nice to be able to check the temperature while travelling.