Who doesn’t love to go on a well-deserved vacation, especially when summer arrives? What you might not realize is that vacations and energy savings can easily go hand-in-hand, as long as you know what to look for. Here are some of our favorite ways to save energy while you’re out of town during this heating season:
- Crank up the heat — Set your programmable thermostat higher than usual. This will save energy while preventing damage to electronics from stifling heat. 85 degrees should do the job.
- Get a tune-up — To ensure that your A/C unit is working to its maximum efficiency, hire a professional HVAC technician to perform its annual tune-up before you leave on vacation.
- Unplug electronics — Many types of electronics like cell phones and televisions continue to use a small amount of power even when they’ve been turned off. These so-called “energy vampires” should be unplugged while you’re on vacation.
- Unplug your refrigerator — Your refrigerator uses a surprising amount of energy. If possible, remove everything from it and leave it unplugged while on vacation.
- Set your lights on timers — Lights will make would-be criminals think you’re home, and setting them on timers will save you energy.
- Switch to CFLs — Compact fluorescent bulbs use much less energy than traditional bulbs, so replace all of them that you can.
- Use your water heater’s vacation mode — There’s no sense in continuing to heat your water if you won’t be home to use it. Whether your water heater has a vacation mode or simply a low temperature setting, be sure to use it.
- Close blinds, curtains, and shades — Shutting these things will lower the temperature of your home, which will prevent your A/C unit from kicking on.
- Turn off ceiling fans — Ceiling and floor fans won’t help keep your home cool while you’re away, so leaving them on will only succeed in wasting energy.
For more expert advice on vacations and energy savings or for any other home comfort concerns, get in touch with the professionals at Roth Heating & Cooling. We’ve been servicing the needs of Portland and the surrounding areas since 1976.
