Summer Vacation Home Checklist
Planning on getting away this summer? Along with your packing list and snack lists and arrangements for the animals, don’t forget about this quick checklist so you don’t come home to an AC disaster after your fun vacation!
Turn off the water. There is no downside whatsoever to turning off the water. It takes a little bit of time, and it can save thousands of dollars in potential damage.
Unplug electronics. If you do have them all run through surge protects, you can simply flip the switch to power them off. Unplugging electronics or turning off the surge protector can also save you some coin.
To make your house appear occupied while you’re gone, put timers on lights in different rooms of the home. The timers turn on and off the lights at different times of the night, as if someone in the house were flipping a switch. Timers are available at home centers for less than $10 a piece. You want to leave the house looking like it’s lived in.
Turn up the thermostat on your Air Conditioner. But don’t turn off the air conditioner or furnace during your vacation. You want to keep the air circulating so it doesn’t have time to condensate. It keeps the house from turning into an oven, which can impact wood doors, cabinets and flooring. Using a Wi-Fi thermostat, a home owner can change the set point of his or her heating and cooling system from a mobile device or computer. A homeowner may want to change the set point remotely for energy savings or change it based on the weather that day. In addition, users of Wi-Fi thermostats can monitor the temperature and operation of heating and cooling equipment without being on site.
Before you leave you may also want to have the outdoor air conditioning condenser inspected by an Expert Heating and Cooling certified technician. The main task is to remove the protective grille cover and clean the condenser coils. The fan inside the condenser coil sucks air through the fins, and as a result, pulls dirt and debris with it. Dust, leaves, dead grass and anything else that collects on the fins will block airflow and reduce the unit’s efficiency. Grass clippings thrown by the lawn mower and “cotton” from cottonwood trees and dandelions are particularly bad offenders. Additionally, they will repair/replace damaged pipe insulation, remove debris from outdoor coil, change air filters, check coil drainage hose, clean supply vents and then simply make sure it runs before you go.
In the Downriver, Michigan area, there is a heating and cooling company that stands out in a crowd. Expert Heating and Cooling employees provide emergency troubleshooting, repairs, preventive maintenance, equipment installations as well as design build and plan and spec services. Whether clients are interested in designing a new residential or commercial system, having a furnace or air conditioner replaced, or having an existing system serviced you can plan on speaking with and developing a plan with a trained industry professional.
Expert Heating and Cooling customers are from the Downriver area, but the company also performs installation and service in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw and Monroe counties.
Please contact the office at 734.676.4488 to inquire about how the Expert staff may help you take control of your indoor temperature and enjoy your summer vacation!