Winterizing Your Home When You’re Away
Make Sure Your Home Stays Safe All Season Long!
There are lots of snowbirds here on the South Shore who spend their winters in warmer places. If you’re joining the flock—or just getting some time away for the holidays visiting friends or relatives—you need to do a few things besides packing to keep your home safe and secure while you’re gone!
These tips are especially important in winter because your home needs to stay warm while you’re away. Do these and you’ll enjoy some peace of mind—just what you need when you’re on even the smallest of vacations.
Get Your Heating System Tuned Up
You may be thinking, “Why do I need a tune-up? I won’t be home to use it.” But while you won’t be there, your house still needs to be kept safely warm. If your furnace or boiler conk out while you’re away, you could be facing a no-heat emergency that brings with it more than just simple discomfort.
Contact us as soon as possible to schedule your maintenance tune-up—it’s one thing that should never be skipped, whether you’re home or not!
Program Your Thermostat Properly
Don’t waste energy and money heating your home to the same default temperatures when you’re not around. Program your thermostat to stay at a constant 55˚ Fahrenheit until you get back. That helps save energy—but keeps the house warm enough to protect crucial elements such as your piping.
A smart thermostat comes in handy when you’re on vacation as well. You can check your thermostat settings from anywhere you get a Wi-Fi or data signal, and you can set it to warm up the house just ahead of your return.
Turn Down the Water Heater
No point in keeping water hot when you’re not home! Turn your water heater to the “Vacation” or “Low” setting for the time you’ll be away.
Unplug Energy “Vampires”
Energy vampires are those appliances and electronics that suck up energy even when you’re not using them, driving up your monthly energy costs.
The kitchen and bathroom are two prime places for these energy vampires. Unplug your small kitchen appliances like multicookers, coffeemakers, stand mixers, and toasters. In the bathroom, unplug electric toothbrushes and hair styling tools.
Other items around your home to unplug include:
- Washers and dryers (especially if they’re newer models with digital features)
- Televisions
- Gaming systems
- Desktop computers
- Modems and routers
- Chargers for phones, laptops, and tablets
- Digital alarm clocks
- Printers and scanners
What’s one other crucial step to take? Make sure your home always has the fuel it needs to keep your home safely warm while you’re away on vacation this winter! Let us know if you have plans for an elongated stay away from home—this helps ensure that your automatic deliveries can remain scheduled accordingly.
Looking for a new fuel supplier this season? Contact us today to see just how easy it is to switch—we’ll get you setup with your next Bioheat or propane delivery in no time!