Energy Efficiency While You Are Away | Teems Electric

You’ve planned for it, scheduled it, dreamed about it and now it is here—your vacation. Is there anything better than running away from reality for a little while? Sleeping more, eating more and playing more while you ignore your daily stressors and give yourself the grace to take a deep breath is such a gift.

Vacations are a great way to reset when life has become overwhelming, or just to provide a better outlook on your day-to-day world. Even if your destination isn’t far away and your time is short, everyone deserves the opportunity to take a break and relax a little.

Vacations can be costly, but with a few simple steps, you can actually save yourself a little money by making your home more energy-efficient while you are away. It’s likely you already plan some safety measures into your shutting down the house routine, but plan some ways to cut your energy use and get a second burst of vacation joy when you open your electric bill later.

Tackle the Big Stuff

Even if you are only going to be gone a few days, addressing some of your large appliances can be a great way to cut energy use. Consider making changes to your water heater, thermostat and televisions.

Adjusting your water heater temperature seasonally can help you save on a regular basis, but most modern water heaters actually come with a vacation-mode setting. A lot of energy drain comes from stand-by losses, but when you use this mode you can save up to 25% on your home’s overall energy use. Check your fridge, too, as it may have a similar setting.

Setting your thermostat to a higher-than-normal temperature can also be another great energy-saver. But use caution with going too high or too low. When you return and turn your HVAC back to normal, you don’t want to offset your gains by causing the system to go into overdrive to cool down.

Another area of your home to consider is those items drawing vampire power, like televisions and kitchen appliances. Maybe you have never unplugged your television, but blow away the dust bunnies and cut the power. Do the same with your microwave, toaster and coffee maker. On average, nearly a month’s worth of energy is wasted on phantom power from appliances that are never unplugged.

Sweat the Small Stuff

Once you have tackled some of the large energy draw areas of your home, make sure you pay attention to smaller items as well. This can include lamps, chargers and your windows.

If you typically leave specific lights on while you are gone, consider putting them on a timer or adding WiFi controls instead. Not only will this save on your energy bill, it is also a safer way to run these items while you are gone as it helps avoid overheating. If security is a concern, operating your lights from afar or having them turn on and off can actually make your home look occupied, whereas a light on at 3 a.m. could make your home more of a target, if it isn’t always on at that time.

Lower your blinds to help your home maintain a steady temperature. Be selective here, though: If there are windows in your home that you never close the blinds on, a sudden change can be an indicator the home is unoccupied.

Unplug chargers, lamps and any other small electronics. If you have several things plugged into a power strip, turn the strip off.

Vacations require a lot of planning, but when you create a plan that includes cutting your energy use, you can go away knowing your home is safe and your bill will be lower. That knowledge is a great way to help you relax faster!

Contact us to find out other ways to make your home energy-efficient so your bills feel like vacation bills all the time.