It’s that time of year when you may be heading off on a well-deserved holiday. The last thing you want to think about is whether you forgot to set the burglar alarm, turn off the water, or unplugged the certain home appliances. You want to enjoy your time away and not worry about if you will be returning to a home catastrophe. Our holiday checklist guide will help you know how to turn off home appliances the correct way.
Turn off:
Water leaks are one of the most common domestic disasters and it’s certainly not what you want to happen to your home whilst you are trying to enjoy yourself and get away from it all on holidays. Not only can water cause considerable damage to your floors and furnishings can also damage your home’s electrical wiring and even start a fire, so consider turning off the water supply when you head off on an extended holiday. You might also want to seek assistance from expert electricians to know whether your home needs electrical rewiring.
You may also want to turn off your electric hot water system when you’re not home, there’s no point heating your water each day if you aren’t around to use it!
Bathroom appliances
Be sure to unplug your hair dryer, curling iron, electric shaver if you’re not bringing these with you. Even when turned off, these devices can use electricity from your outlet costing you money.
“Vampire” appliances use electricity even when they are “off” by going into standby mode and can account for up to 10% of your total electricity usage which is considerable. How can you identify these energy vampires? They have:
- an external power supply
- a remote control
- a continuous display (including an LED) such as a clock
- a function of charging batteries
Here are the top 2 categories to pay attention to:
- TVs and computers
TVs, sound systems, computers and even routers continue to drain power if they’re left on standby. You want to unplug these appliances at the wall before you head out of town.
- Kitchen gadgets
Coffee makers, toasters, microwaves, dishwashers and washing machines should all be switched off and unplugged to save electricity and protect your home from fire risk.
DON’T turn off:
Fridge and freezer
While you can switch off most appliances, you can’t usually turn off the electricity completely as you still need the freezer and fridge to run unless you’re going away for a long time. Even if you clear your fridge and freezer of food, keep in mind that if you switch if off, it will defrost and you’ll return to a very wet and damaged floor.
Automatic timers
You’ll need electricity to make your house look lived in while you’re out of town, so you don’t attract the attention of burglars. Use an automatic timer to turn lights on and off in the evenings at pre-programmed times. This gives the impression of someone being at home to ward off potential intruders.
Outside security
Make sure any security systems you have in place are working properly. Remember to set the burglar alarm before you leave home and check that the outside security lighting and movement sensors come on to dissuade any burglars from entering your property while it’s empty.
If you want more information about which appliances to turn off and leave on over the holidays, you can always consult your friendly local electricians. For expert local electricians in Hornsby, the Hills District and surrounding areas, talk to Hornsby Electric. We have professional and fully licensed electricians that are here to help you with all your residential and commercial electrical needs. Call us on 9477 2550 to learn more.