When vacation time mercifully arrives, don't forget to prep your home in your haste to
escape. Employing consistent vacation strategies
can help you save energy and money
while you're gone. Utilize the vacation setting on your programmable thermostat or
adjust the temperature
manually to give your energy bills a vacation too. Energy Star suggests 55 in the winter
and 85 in the summer (but be careful if you have plants or animals). When leaving for
a weekend or longer, turn off electric
water heaters at the ciruit
breaker panel (unless it's freezing out) or set gas water heaters to the "pilot" setting.
More vacation tips: Turn lights off and unplug home electronics like the computer. And for the extreme home energy-saving
type, unplug the TV, clocks, cordless phone, stereo, gaming console, and Internet router,
and empty the refrigerator and freezer and turn them off. The common plug loads such as
TVs, stereos, microwaves, phone chargers, and clocks amount to 400,000 watts or more of
energy wasted every year!