As you prepare for summer vacation, you may be wondering how to secure your home while you are gone. Don’t forget to include the A/C among your plans before you go.
1. Leave the Air Conditioner On: Give the appearance that someone is home while you are on vacation by programming your air conditioner to go on and off at certain times. This may help to deter any would-be burglar.
2. Program the A/C at a comfortable temperature: If you will be leaving pets or plants behind under the care of a neighbor or family member, use a programmable thermostat to achieve a temperature that will keep your animals comfortable and your plants from wilting.
3. Give your house sitter the A/C technician’s number: While preparing all the important numbers for the individual who is checking on your house, include the number for your air conditioning technician to call in case of an emergency. If your air conditioner were to have problems while you are away it would be important for your house sitter to have an appropriate company to contact.
4. Unplug unnecessary appliances: While the A/C may deter criminals from approaching your home, the plugged-in toaster or microwave will not. Make sure to unplug all unnecessary electronics in your home for the period you will be gone.
5. Check your air filter: Make sure the filters in your home have been changed recently. Dirty filters can cause additional stress on your air conditioner. They extend the life of your A/C, are easy to replace and are very low cost.
6. Check the water heater: Make sure it is properly strapped for safety in case of an earthquake. You should also make sure that there are no leaks. To save energy, you may want to turn down the temperature on the tank or completely shut off your water heater and turn off the pilot.
For more information on keeping cool this summer, contact Around the Clock Air Conditioning, serving the Los Angeles Area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Los Angeles, North Hollywood and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about A/C and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock