Homeowner tips

Vacation and home energy saving tips

Easy home energy saving tips to make your house more efficient

RV road trips. Beaches and sand. Theme parks and resorts. Many families plan summer getaways to reconnect with family and friends, enjoy outdoor sights and activities and take a break from the daily grind. What they don’t often plan for is arriving back home to a high energy bill. Some incorrectly assume if no one is home that the utility bills will automatically be lower due to lack of appliance use. Some simply forget to turn things off before they leave. It’s easy to overlook some of these tasks during the planning and excitement of embarking on a long overdue trip. To make it easy, we’ve compiled a list of vacation and home energy saving tips so you can check these off your to-do list and enjoy some well-deserved, worry-free family time.

Vacation and Home Energy Saving Tips

Turn off all fans - Fans cool people, not rooms
Use a Wi-Fi thermostat - Set up a vacation schedule on your Sensi™ Smart Thermostats or use the mobile app to adjust the house temperature when away and set it back on your way home so it is comfortable upon arrival
Lower water heater temperature - Turn down the water heater temperature, turn it off, or put it in vacation mode
Unplug appliances and power strips - Phantom power suckers are all around you, hiding in the smallest electric appliance, draining power so slowly you might not even notice them. These standby suckers can account for 10-20% of your electric bill. Read more about slaying home energy vampires.
Turn off the lights or automate home lighting - Set lighting to a timer or use smart lighting you can adjust from your phone to keep tempted burglars at bay
Set refrigerator temperature to 40°F - Clean your fridges of any food that might spoil in your absence. For food that is left, 40°F is the lowest recommended temperature to keep food safe from bacterial growth. (Read more on refrigeration and food safety.)
Use heat-blocking shades or curtains - Curtain and tapestry fabric “seals” will help to keep the cold air in and the warm air out to keep your energy bill low

Use these vacation energy savings tips as a handy checklist to lower home energy use so you have more money to put toward future family getaways.