Vacations are supposed to be carefree and devoid of stress – however that time on the beach and nice hotel probably cost you a pretty penny. But, you can offset some of your vacation expenses by following these few energy-saving tips below, you can actually save money while you’re out of town.
While you’re taking a break, you can actually give your home appliances a little break too. A vacation gives you a great opportunity to go green, save some green and help make your home a little more energy efficient in your absence.
Turn Off the AC
It’s less than ideal to have your home in the mid-80s while your there, but setting your thermostat to 85˚ while you’re on vacation can really keep your energy costs in check. For every degree over 72˚ that you set your thermostat, you can save anywhere between 1-3% on your power bill. Simply turn off the air conditioning or turn up the thermostat – both options save you cash!
Lower the Water Heater Setting
In the same sense that nobody needs a cool house while you’re away, your empty home can just as easily do without hot water for the length of your vacation. A tankless water heater might already have your home operating at a high level of energy efficiency, but in the event that you have a standard water heater, it will continue to run normally while you’re out of town. Simply lower the temperature setting on the water heater or just turn it off altogether – some models even have a Vacation setting you can flip on.
Fill the Fridge
Refrigerators run more efficiently when they’re full. Obviously, you should toss out any anything that might expire before you leave for your trip, but you can still make the most of the empty space by filling empty soda bottles or milk cartons with water.
Make Sure Your Appliances Are Off
Save the best (and easiest) for last: Turn off the lights and unnecessary appliances. Standby power, a result of keeping electronics on while they’re not in use, normally accounts for as much as 10% of your monthly power usage. You could save some major power and money just by flipping the switch to off on your den or entertainment room’s surge protector before you head out of town.
Spring and Fall AC and Furnace Checks
Yearly system cleanings and tune-ups help improve the air flow across the Condenser and Evaporator coils of your heating and cooling system which in turn, helps reduce your energy bills. Besides regular maintenance on your AC, you should also check your Furnace or Heating system periodically to make sure it’s operating safely and efficiently. Maintaining your A/C unit is the best way to ensure its longevity and maintain warranty compliance. Longevity is all about preventative maintenance. EHS Energy Savings Agreements make maintain your systems and warranty compliance easy.
Beyond these few tips, there are a couple of even easier ways you can cut your cooling costs and get your home functioning at a much higher level of efficiency: An EHS Home Energy Efficiency Audit and an EHS Attic Tent.
With an EHS Home Energy Audit, you get the advice and service of our experienced Energy Auditors – all trained, tested and certified to BPI’s nationally recognized standards. According to the Department of Energy, a major source of heating and cooling leakage is right through your attic access door. By having EHS install an Attic Tent in your attics access hatch opening, you cut HVAC inefficiency off right at the source!
(H/T Energy.gov, GreenYour.com, EWEB.com)
