Just because we enjoy mild winters in the Peachtree City area, that doesn’t mean you can afford to leave your home unprepared when you head out for a winter vacation. A little vacation maintenance can save you from big trouble.

Leave the heat on

While freezing temperatures are uncommon in our area, they do happen. Turning your heat off completely leaves your pipes vulnerable to freezing should a cold snap hit while you’re away. To conserve energy and still protect your pipes, turn your thermostat down to 55 degrees, but no lower.

Shut off the water

If you’ll be gone for more than a day or two, use the main water shutoff valve to turn off water to the entire house. Then drain the pipes by running the faucets and flushing the toilets. This prevents flooding on the off chance one of your pipes breaks.

Use timers for your lights

Burglars make a point of monitoring houses to find out which are empty. To discourage them, make your home looked lived in by putting your lights on timers. Set different lights to go on and off at different times during the evenings just as you might normally use them.

Unplug your electronics

Any electronic device with an indicator light or standby mode draws a small amount of electricity even when not in use. As part of your vacation maintenance, unplug those devices to save energy.

Get an inspection

Because you won’t be there to look after your heating system, even small problems can turn serious quickly. To reduce the risk of a malfunction, make sure your annual professional furnace maintenance gets done before you leave. The technician will clean the components, make minor repairs, and alert you to developing problems to ensure your furnace runs safely.

If you can’t get it scheduled in time, at least replace your air filter, inspect accessible wiring for damage, and check the outside end of your furnace flue for blockages.

For more winter vacation maintenance tips for your home, contact us at Powers Heating & Air in the Peachtree City area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Peachtree City, Georgia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 770-487-2040.

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