Don’t Waste Energy Dollars At Home While You’re Away On Vacation

When you go away for a vacation, there’s no need to leave your home fully operational. Learning what to turn off and how to manage your appliances can save energy dollars whether you’re gone for a few days or weeks at a time. Some of these tips may help you save money while you’re away without harming your home.

• Check the air filter for the blower and clean or change it. Nothing drives up energy bills faster than an air conditioner whose filter is clogged. Turn the thermostat up to 80 degrees to 85 degrees.
• Remove food that will spoil from the refrigerator. If it’s quite empty, put water bottles inside it or store flour, sugar or grains in it. A full refrigerator and freezer use fewer energy dollars than an empty one. Your refrigerator will run more when the indoor temperature is higher, but the refrigerator uses less electricity than your air conditioner.
• Use CFL or LED lights on timers at night to make your home look occupied. You can also plug a radio into a timer to mimic being at home. Use these energy-efficient lights outdoors as well, or install lights with motion sensors so your outdoor lights don’t run constantly.
• Turn off your water heater if you’ll be away more than three days to save energy dollars. The Department of Energy estimates that heating water is second only to cooling and heating your home for raising your energy bills. (You may also want to consider turning off the domestic water to the home to prevent any water damage from leaks or broken pipes.)
• Unplug all the energy vampires in your home. An instant-on television uses power constantly and all those computer peripherals plugged into power strips drain power even though they’re not running.
• Turn down a water bed heater or unplug it.
• Ask an HVAC technician to service your air conditioning system so you don’t worry about equipment problems while you’re away. He can also install a programmable thermostat so you spend fewer energy dollars, even when you’re home.

Sobieski Services can help you save energy throughout the year. Contact us today to schedule an appointment or to have any HVAC-related questions answered in the Wilmington, Middletown, Bear, Newark, and West Chester areas.

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