Heading out for the holidays? Don’t forget to prepare your home before you leave.
Check out these four ways you can keep energy usage down when you’re away from home.
- Tempted to turn your heater off or turn it way down? Don’t. You might risk freezing your pipes! According to the Department of Energy, you should set your thermostat to around 68°F to 70°F while you’re at home, and lower it no more than 7°F to 10°F while you’re away. We recommend playing it safe and never going lower than 60°F.
- Walk around your home and unplug all unnecessary electronics and appliances — from big things like entertainment centers and computers to smaller things like coffee pots.
- Speaking of the little things, leaving a light on is a smart way to keep your home safe from burglars, but leaving it on all day is wasteful. Instead, try automatic timers programmed to turn on from dusk till dawn and by all means, make sure it’s an LED bulb to save energy.
- If you’ll be away for more than three days, turn your water heater down. For an electric water heater: Turn the temperature dial down at the circuit breaker panel. For a natural gas water heater: Turn it down to “low” or set to “vacation mode.”