While you’re loading the car with all the suitcases, coolers and other travel necessities (don’t forget those chargers!) to take a much-needed vacation, take the time to give yourself a break from high energy bills.
Adding these six simple tasks to your pre-vacation checklist, whether on paper or on an app, can help you save money on your energy bills while you’re away – so go ahead and splurge on some souvenirs!
Turn your water heater to the vacation setting. Did you know that water heating accounts for an average of 18 percent of your home’s energy costs? Why throw that money away heating water while you’re not home? Spend it on ice cream instead! If your propane water heater does not have a vacation setting, turn the temperature control to between 50 and 70 degrees.
Don’t cool an empty house. Set your air conditioning system’s thermostat to 85 degrees before you leave. If you have a programmable thermostat that can be adjusted by date, use that to set the A/C to 85 while you’re away and turn it back to your regular setting a few hours ahead of when you’re scheduled to arrive back home. Nowadays, many thermostats can be controlled via smartphone – making this task even easier!
Go unplugged. There’s no need for your electronics to be running while you’re gone. Before you leave, unplug the TV, washer and dryer (especially if they’re newer and have digital features), modems and routers, cable boxes (unless you’re DVR-ing your favorite shows while you’re gone), gaming systems, desktop PCs, laptops, printers and scanners. Don’t forget to unplug the little energy-suckers like coffeepots, toasters, slow cookers and multi-cookers, electric toothbrushes and chargers. Unplugging all you can unplug also reduces fire risk.
By the way, if you’re one of those who worry that you left the oven on when you leave for a trip, put your smartphone to good use. Snap a photo of the stove showing everything off right before you leave. This hack can also be applied to other appliances. You’ll know everything that’s supposed to be unplugged is unplugged, and that the fridge wasn’t left open.
Put lights on a timer. For home security, you want to have some lights on so you’re not rolling out the red carpet to burglars. A few lamps around the house on a timer can give your home a lived-in look while you’re away. Replacing the bulbs with LEDs or halogen incandescent will mean even less energy usage. A motion-activated sensor on your outdoor lights will provide security while not leaving them on all night.
Turn up the refrigerator temperatures. Food will still be safe with a refrigerator temperature of 42 degrees and a freezer temperature of 5 degrees.
If you’re going away for an extended vacation of a month or longer, contact Poore’s professionals and learn what you should do in terms of your home’s heating, air conditioning and water heater systems for while you’ll be away.
Poore’s Propane has the equipment and fuel you need to power a more energy-efficient home. Give us a call today to learn more about how high-efficiency systems can help save you money!
