Are you ready for a vacation?
Your home should be too! Careful preparation before a vacation can not only help protect your home and your belongings while you travel, but also provide your family with some energy savings to spend on souvenirs! Follow these five simple tips to prepare your home for your absence.
Whether it’s a weekend road-trip or stay at the lake house, remember to follow some of these energy-saving tips to avoid unnecessary expenses from adding up while you’re away.
1. Turn off the lights.
If you decide to keep any of your lights on as a security measure, invest in an automatic timer. It can be programmed to turn on your lights during late evening and early morning hours while preventing wasted energy during the day.
2. Adjust the Heat and Cool settings on your thermostat.
While it’s important to keep the air circulating in your home while you’re gone, you can drastically cut down on energy usage by adjusting the Heat and Cool settings on your thermostat. Set your Heat setting to around 50 degrees during the winter months, and the Cool setting of your thermostat up to 85 degrees. It is said that for every degree a thermostat is raised during the summer, a homeowner can save 2-3 percent on his or her electric bill. If you have a programmable thermostat, simply use the “vacation” feature to maintain safe and efficient indoor temperatures while you’re gone.
3. Unplug appliances and electronics.
Even when they’re turned off, anything that’s plugged into the wall can continue to consume energy. By unplugging your devices or using a smart power strip, you’ll avoid wasting standby power. Don’t forget to unplug your washer and dryer, too.
4. Adjust your water heater(s).
Turn your water heater down to “low” or to “vacation” mode. If your pool also uses a heater, consider purchasing a pool cover that will help minimize heat loss so that you can avoid the cost to reheat it.
5. Refrigerator:
If you’ll only be gone a few days, turn your refrigerator’s thermostat up a few degrees. If you’ll be gone more than two weeks, clean and empty the refrigerator, prop the door open, and unplug the unit.
Whether it’s a weekend road-trip or stay at the lake house, remember to follow some of these energy-saving tips to avoid unnecessary expenses from adding up while you’re away.
Call Gaddis Air & Heat at (281) 702-4710
To set up an appointment with one of our Experts who check your current systems for efficiency improvements!
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