How to Save Energy while You are Away

You can be in complete control of your carbon footprint when you’re at home, but when you’re going away for a vacation, that could not be the case. However, there are certain things you can do to at least reduce your use of energy while preparing for a long trip. Leave your house without worrying about using up excessive amounts of energy while you’re enjoying a vacation by following these eco-friendly vacation preparation tips:

1. Unplug Unused Appliances

Electrical appliances sap energy whether or not they are turned on as long as they are plugged into the main line. Before leaving for a vacation, make sure you turn off and unplug any appliance and gadget you have at home. In the living room, make sure you unplug the television, DVD player, stereo, computers, printers/scanners, fax machine, and other appliances you might be using there. In the kitchen, unplug appliances like the oven, microwave, blender, food processor, coffee maker, toaster, rice cooker, and refrigerator. If you don’t want to turn your refrigerator off, you can raise the temperature up to 38 degrees.

2. Shut off your Heating and Cooling Systems

You can save tons of energy simply by shutting your heating and cooling system off. You won’t actually need any of these while you’re away, unless you have someone staying to take care of your house for you. Otherwise, you would want to turn down your thermostat or completely shut it off. You would also want to turn off all your air conditioning units, in the living room and in bedrooms. Unplug and turn off ceiling fans as well.

3. Use Motion Sensor Outdoor Lights

People who do not have anyone to watch their homes for them while they are away would usually leave the outside lights on 24/7 to discourage potential intruders. The thing is that you don’t need these outside lights during day time, and leaving them on 24 hours a day is a real waste of energy and money. To solve this problem, install some motion sensor outside lights, so that the lights only turn on at nighttime. There are many types of lamps and lighting fixtures like these that do not even need to be plugged into the main line since they run on batteries.

4. Be Creative in Other Eco-Friendly Ways to Prepare

There are also other ways you can save on energy while preparing for a long vacation. Since you’re probably going shopping along the road, you might also want to take your own shopping bag with you to eliminate the use of too many plastic bags. In the same manner, bring your own water just so that you won’t have to buy bottled water when you need to get a drink.

These are very simple eco-friendly tips but there are too many people who do not practice them. If you can apply them personally, you will be amazed at the end of the month at how much energy and money you have saved.