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Looking forward to boarding that plane or hitting the road soon? Everyone loves a holiday – but you’ll also love the unexpected savings you’ll make while you’re away, too.
Think of all the water and energy you’re not using while you’re not at your property, and how small your energy bill could be when you get back.
Miss a few simple steps of pre-holiday prep, though, and you could miss even more opportunities to shrink your energy bill further during your holiday.
Here are 11 quick and easy things to do before you go to maximise your energy savings.
Unplug non-essential electronics
Most people remember to turn their TVs, entertainment systems, computers, office equipment etc. off before stepping out with their suitcases. But did you know that as long as they’re still plugged in with the mains socket still on, some of them are still using a bit of energy?
This is called ‘phantom load’, ‘vampire load’ or ‘standby power’. And although it’s a small amount per day, it can add up over time.
So before you set off, make sure you switch everything you won’t be using off by the mains (including kettles and toasters) and unplug them for good measure.
Adjust your thermostat
Although heating or cooling empty spaces can be wasteful, you might still need to regulate the temperature while you’re away (e.g. to prevent the pipes from freezing in winter).
To do this without wasting extra energy, set your thermostat to 13°C in the winter to make sure your heating system isn’t activated unnecessarily.
Or, if you have an air conditioning system, you can set the thermostat to 29°C to stop it from running when not needed – it’ll still run if the environment becomes excessively hot, helping to prevent heat damage to your home.
If you have a smart or programmable thermostat with a vacation setting, simply use this setting while you’re away to automatically adjust temperatures to more energy-efficient levels.
Optimise your water heater
Water heaters can also use a lot of energy, so it’s important not to waste energy heating water that nobody will use while you’re on holiday. Optimising your water heater settings and maintenance before you go will help prevent this.
Many modern water heaters have a vacation mode – switch yours to this setting just before you leave.
If you don’t have a vacation mode on your water heater, it can be manually adjusted: just set the temperature to the lowest option, or turn it off completely.
Manage Your Lighting
Ideally, we should switch off every light in our homes to save energy while we’re away. But many people understandably opt to keep a few lights on for extra security.
LED bulbs are a fantastic alternative to older incandescent or fluorescent bulbs as they use far less energy (and last for much longer, too). If you pair these with timers to program your lights to come on and off at different times, it saves you from having them on all the time.
If you upgrade to smart lighting, you can even control them remotely from your phone to ensure they’re off when not needed, or on when you want it to look like someone’s home.
Adjust refrigerator and freezer settings
It takes a huge amount of energy to reduce temperature. So it might come as little surprise that fridges and freezers are two of the biggest energy users of the home.
Learning how to adjust your fridge to the right temperature is handy for making sure your food stays fresh without having to use excess energy.
But if you’ll be gone for a long period of time, it’s best to empty your fridge and freezer, defrost them and switch them off so you’re not using any energy at all. Make sure you also unplug them and leave the doors open to prevent mould.
Close (or open) your curtains
As well as tweaking your thermostat, you can also adjust your curtains and blinds to help regulate the temperature inside your property without using any extra energy.
In summer, keep curtains closed to block out the heat of the sun – but in the winter, keep them open to let the heat in.
Turn off your water supply
If you’re going away for a long time, it might be a good idea to turn off your home’s main water supply. This could help prevent leaks.
If you’re going away during the winter, you can also drain the pipes to make sure they don’t freeze.
Switch off your router
Internet routers use power all the time. If you don’t need remote access to your home network, consider shutting yours down during your holiday.
Need a super fast, stable connection to work on while abroad? Check out Utility Warehouse broadband packages to find one that suits your needs.
Adjust swimming pool settings
Most people don’t have a swimming pool – but if you happen to have one, adjusting its maintenance settings can save you a lot of energy.
Refuge the operating hours of your pool’s pump and heater so they’re not constantly running, and use a pool cover to maintain the temperature of the water.
Use energy-efficient home security solutions
Instead of using mains-powered security cameras and sensors, you can opt for battery-powered ones. But if you already have mains-powered systems, make sure they’re set to ‘low power’ mode if you can.
With additional smart security, you can also adjust your settings remotely as needed.
Switch to a better provider
You could not only save more money, but also more time, by switching to a simpler service provider with better rates.
For example, Utility Warehouse offers energy, broadband, mobile and insurance. The more services you take, the more discounts you get. And all the services you take are put on one simple monthly bill, as well as one account – making it easier to manage your home services on the go with their free app.
And because they offer a free smart meter installation service, you can also take further steps to save more by being able to see your energy use in near-real-time.
You can also save even more on your holidays with a UW Cashback Card. While many other cards will charge you foreign exchange fees to use while abroad, the Cashback Card refunds these fees as cashback – so you don’t have to spend any more on your getaway than you have to.
So while you get ready for your next getaway, make sure you follow these pre-holiday energy hacks to keep your home as energy-efficient as possible and your energy bills down. And, best of all, enjoy your holiday knowing you’re saving more money for the next one!
