Here’s what you should shut down, what you shouldn’t, and when.
Why Unplug and Turn Things Off When You’re On Vacation?
There are three good reasons to unplug or turn off certain things around your home while you’re gone.
First, the low stakes reason.
You’ll save money.
In addition to saving money, unplugged devices are safe from power surges.
And the single best precaution you might take toprotect your electronics and appliances from power outagesis to unplug them.
But before we jump in, a quick note.
But let’s highlight some key things you should unplug or turn off before heading out.
(No time like the present toensure you’re properly backing up your system.)
As a general rule, you should only leave such batteries on the charger just to charge them.
But it’s extra important to avoid leaving them on the charger while away from home.
The last thing you want while on vacation is your lawn mower battery burning your house down.
Some things in that category are obvious.
Butsome things are less obvious, however.
That means no alert from your smart thermostat if things go awry, for example.
Anything related to yoursmart security systemis critical too, of course.
Even things likeair quality monitorsare useful while you’re away.
There are a few problems with that approach, however.
You canset your thermostat back in the winter, within reason, to avoid keeping an empty home toasty.
And you’re able to turn the thermostat up in the summer to lower your AC costs.
If you don’t know what something does, it should stay plugged in until you figure it out.
This is also a strong argument against the flip-the-breakers method of turning things off.
You should skip turning off your water heater for longer trips and insteadput it in vacation mode.
That keeps the heater operating (andthe water in a safe temperature range).
