Vacation Time? Save Energy and Protect Your Home While You’re Away

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Taking off for a summer vacation is a great way to get away from the hassles of everyday life, but it also presents a perfect opportunity for energy savings. Take these steps to reduce energy consumption in your Portland area home while you’re away. 

  1. Cut cooling costs. If you’re concerned about heat damage in your home, you can leave your air conditioner (A/C) on, but set the thermostat at 85 degrees so it only kicks on when it becomes really hot. If you’re not concerned about the heat getting that high, you can unplug your A/C altogether until you get back. Additionally, if you have a programmable thermostat, set it to 85 degrees or higher, and then program it to reduce the temperature setting shortly before you expect to arrive home.
  2. Adjust your lighting. There’s no need to leave all the lights in your house blazing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while you’re gone. However, some homeowners prefer to leave some lights on for security purposes. To deter potential break-ins, simply select a few lights — including your porch light — and hook them up to a timer or motion sensor.
  3. Set your refrigerator for savings. Refrigerators eat up a lot of energy, but you can significantly reduce this expense during vacation. If you’re planning to be away for a month or more, you can empty out the fridge and unplug it. Be sure to prop the door open to deter mold. For a shorter vacation, you can simply get rid of highly perishable items, and set the refrigerator on its highest temperature setting.
  4. Unplug electronics. Many appliances and electronic devices use energy just by being plugged in, so anything that doesn’t need to run should be unplugged, such as your TV, gaming consoles, computers, printers, and even larger appliances, such as your washer and dryer.
  5. Reduce hot-water costs. Hot water is the second largest energy expense in most homes, after heating and cooling. You can save energy by turning your water heater off at the fuse box or circuit-breaker panel.
  6. Time your pool pump. Running the pool pump keeps your swimming pool fresh while you’re away on vacation, but it doesn’t need to run more than six hours a day.

To learn more about how you can save energy and money while you’re on summer vacation, contact Roth Home & Cooling at (503) 266-1249. We’ve been serving residential and commercial customers in Portland and the surrounding area since 1976. Ask about our Precision Tune-up, and we’ll make sure that your heating and cooling system gets the TLC it needs to run efficiently and optimally all summer long.

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Industry Affiliations
100 Best Companies Oregon
Happiness Award
Best Company Woman Badge
Best CEO Badge
Best Company Outlook
Bradford White - Water Heaters
GENERAC
Daikin - Air Intelligence
BBB Rating A+
Angie - Super Service Award 2023
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