Before embarking on your spring break or summer holiday trip, or visiting family for the holidays, use these energy saving tips to avoid an expensive energy bill at home when away. They will help conserve both energy and money during your travels.
1. Unplug Everything
Start by doing a walk-through of your house, turning off anything you won’t be using during your absence – set-top boxes, computers, microwaves, underfloor heating systems, towel rails and extra drink fridges all use energy without actually providing service to their intended use.
However, before traveling on holiday, unplugging all appliances and electronics can be the most effective way to conserve energy and save energy costs. This will also help avoid an expensive electricity bill upon returning from holiday and save on future payments.
Many people don’t realize that their television, computer, stereos, and mobile phone chargers still consume energy even after being turned off. According to this article, these appliances use up energy in what’s known as standby power consumption which gradually adds up over time and can have a substantial effect on your electricity bill. Therefore, it is wise to take a tour around your home before leaving on holiday to ensure any appliances or electronics not essential are switched off before heading away from home.
This is especially important if they’re connected directly to the wall without using a surge protector, to lower the risk of an unexpected power surge and prevent energy vampires from using up too much energy while you’re gone. Smart meters allow users to monitor energy usage via app while you’re away and even set thresholds so that any unusual consumption will alert you quickly.
Make unplugging devices part of your pre-vacation ritual, along with locking doors and windows and turning off the oven. It should only take a few minutes while checking off other to-do items before leaving on holiday.
If you want to ensure no electric usage during your absence, one way is to shut off the mains power at the fuse box and completely disconnect all devices that use electricity – this way your meter won’t move until after your return from travel!
If you want to keep track of your electricity consumption while away, turn on digital billing in your energy provider’s app. This allows you to see exactly how much electricity your home consumes each hour – especially helpful if your vacation lasts more than several days!
2. Turn Off the Breaker
Leaving the electricity running while you’re gone is an enormous energy waste and damaging to both your appliances and the environment. Therefore, it’s vital that before leaving town all electronics and appliances be switched off or unplugged (source:
https://bestestrøm.no/10-tips-om-strøm-før-ferie/) to save both money and keep your house safe while you’re gone. This will not only keep it secure for later when you return – saving energy is only the start!
One of the most frequent mistakes people make before going away on vacation is turning off their circuit breaker to save energy, however this is actually ineffective as this strategy causes an unexpectedly large surge in electricity when they return from vacation and could nullify any savings made during that period. repeatedly turning your breakers on and off can reduce their lifespan over time.
Even while away, you can still reduce your energy consumption with alternative strategies. Timers can help ensure that appliances don’t continue running when left behind; or try using a smart power bar which automatically turns off devices plugged in but not being used.
Another approach is to unplug electronics like your TV, microwave and iron from their outlets. This will prevent them from drawing power from standby mode – which accounts for as much as 10% of your electricity bill! You could even set timers on lights to reduce wasteful consumption.
3. Turn Off the Mains Power
When away on holiday, your home must remain free from water leakage and other hazards; turning off the mains power can help safeguard against this while simultaneously saving both energy and money. As soon as you leave home, turn off both switches at your fuse box and make sure the breaker has also been switched off – this will stop any appliances from using electricity while you’re gone and ensure your meter doesn’t change until your return.
For added peace of mind use a smart plug or similar device which connects and controls multiple devices remotely – these may also help stop your refrigerator and freezer defrosting while you’re gone, saving you money and avoiding unpleasant smells upon returning home!
Unplugging all electronics that produce phantom power emissions is an effective way to save while on vacation, including your phone charger, stereo system, laptop computer and video game consoles that may still be plugged in but unturned on. An easy way to identify these devices is looking out for their blue power supplies; purchasing a power bar that can monitor and disconnect devices at set times may also help avoid leaving unnecessary devices running while getting ready for travel.
If you own a smart meter with Endesa, the free app provides an efficient way for you to monitor energy consumption while away. You’ll be able to monitor how much power is being consumed at home in real-time while setting notifications so you’ll know immediately if anything seems out-of-the-ordinary. This method provides a safer and more effective alternative to switching off the circuit breaker before leaving on holidays, which could still cause large surges upon your return and negate any savings you might have experienced.
4. Double Check Everything Before You Leave
No matter whether it’s for just one weekend, one week, or several months – keeping your home energy-efficient while you’re gone is vitally important. Inform a trusted neighbor that you will be absent so they can collect mail or park on the driveway while taking out bins to create the illusion that someone is home and prevent burglars or false alarms in case of emergencies.
Simply switching off your air conditioner and lights won’t cut it, however. Unplugging appliances that won’t be used while you’re gone can also help save electricity – this includes televisions, microwaves and other standby power users like extra drinks fridges or heated towel rails that use up an abundance of standby electricity – together forming what is known as the Phantom Load.
Making an energy guzzler checklist part of your pre-holiday ritual can help remind you to switch off everything that needs to be before leaving home for vacation. There are free apps like Loop that monitor household energy use while you’re gone so you know which devices need switching off before your holiday begins.
Unbeknown to many people is the fact that digital billing can also help reduce electricity bills when traveling abroad. Accessing your energy use more clearly provides insight into where and how you could cut back consumption – both during your holiday trip as well as for long term savings.