If you’ve had just about enough of the winter weather and want to escape the season, you might consider vacationing to someplace warm and sunny, far from the wind, snow and bitterly cold temperatures. But, just because you skip town doesn’t mean that winter won’t catch up with you—if you forget to properly prep your home for your absence, you might return to a situation that’s an even bigger headache than winter itself!
Pipes can burst and flood your home while you’re away; stunted temperatures can affect your living space; an improperly maintained furnace can break down and leave your home frozen; etc. All of these things are not only possible while you’re away, if you’re not cognizant of your home’s HVAC situation, they could very well be probable as well!
Take a look at some essential tips from an HVAC contractor in Grand Junction, CO on how to protect your home while you’re out of town this winter:
- Shut off the main water line to your home. This will prevent water from flowing into your pipes, becoming stagnant and freezing there. Frozen water expands and causes pipes to rupture, thus opening the floodgates (literally) for water to spill out into your home, causing flood damage and more.
- Don’t turn your thermostat off or down too far! Keeping your home at about 60-degrees should be enough to maintain heat and protect your home from the chilling weather outside. Any lower and you risk not being able to protect your home from creeping temperatures, which can freeze pipes, kill houseplants and wreck all sorts of havoc! If you have a smart thermostat with a “vacation setting,” this is a smart option as well.
- Have your furnace inspected and tuned-up before you leave for more than a couple of days. Your furnace will need to run on autopilot while you’re done—which it should already be doing—but you want to make sure there’s nothing that might compromise it in your absence, causing it to shut off and not kick back on!
- Turn down your water heater to the “warm” setting or, for electric heaters, turn them off. You’re not going to need hot water while you’re away, but your water heater doesn’t know that! It’ll continue heating water while you’re gone unless you turn it off, which can result in sustained energy consumption.
- Be sure to shut everything up tight while you’re away! Lock windows closed to prevent air from escaping, make sure all doors are shut, locked and any door cozies are laid to prevent air loss, and make sure to close blinds or shades that might help to prevent heat loss near windows. All of these things will keep the strain off of your HVAC system as it works to maintain your home’s temperature.
Pay mind to the items listed above in regards to your HVAC and plumbing if you’re planning on going out of town and you won’t have to worry about an emergency call to an HVAC contractor in Grand Junction, CO when you get home!