5 Tips to Protect Your Home While You’re on Vacation

You may be on vacation, but that doesn’t mean you stop thinking about or having to take care of your house while you’re away. Here are 5 Handy tips to ensure your home is safe from electrical issues while you’re gone!

Unplug

Even when your devices are turned off, they still use power and electricity and could be subject to surges and shorts. By unplugging devices such as TVs, computers, lamps, and more, you will save money on electrical use and protect yourself from any potential fire hazards. Unless you want a stinky mess when you return home, you should leave your fridge plugged in, however, you can turn down the settings slightly.

Hot Water Tank

Another way to reduce your costs and power usage while you are away is to turn down the temperature on your water heater. Although you are not using hot water while on vacation, the water will cool on its own, which will kick on the heating process in your tank. Most hot water tanks have a setting called ‘vacation’ or ‘away.’ Simply find the temperature knob or panel, and set it to the vacation temperature, which is usually located just above the pilot setting. Why heat your water when you won’t be using it?

Temperature Settings

If you’re traveling in the winter, you should leave the heat on, however, the temperature can be much lower than if you were home to keep your pipes from freezing or bursting. On the contrary, if you’re away in the summer, there is no need to keep your air conditioning on at all. You can cool your house down again when you come home. If you have pets you can’t take with you, consider having someone else look after them at their home.

Programmable Lights

At night, it’s important to have some lights on in the house so it looks like people are home. There are devices you can buy to program your indoor or outdoor lights, to turn them on/off at a particular time. Timed lights help to reduce your electrical costs. You could also look into “smart” lights or fixtures which can be controlled from your smartphone no matter wherever you are.

Check-In

Lastly, have a friend, family member, or neighbor check in on your house every few days while you are away. Someone walking around your home or property could notice a problem before it becomes severe. Some insurance companies require that someone check on an empty house for the coverage to still be valid in case of an emergency.