It’s time for a lot of local retirees to fly south for the winter. Energy-conscious snowbirds are calling Chelan County PUD’s Conservation Department  for advice on shutting up their homes for the season.

Their main question: At what temperature should I set my thermostat when I’m away?

The answer: about 55 degrees F. In older homes that are not well insulated, customers may want to leave the thermostat at 60 degrees. If there’s no fear of pipes freezing, you might be able to get away with 50 degrees.  Tip: Leave cupboard doors under sinks open so warm air can get to your pipes.

Here are some additional tips:

• To save energy, turn off the circuit breaker to your hot water heater. Just remember to turn it back on when you get home before you jump in the shower.
• Unplug electrical appliances and computers (but not the refrigerator/freezer). Power outages and/or power surges may cause undue stress on any electric equipment.
• Make sure your smoke alarms work and have new batteries.
• Turn off those faucets throughout the home. Check drains to make sure they are open and ready to drain if necessary. Turn off the supply valve of water to the toilet and water supply lines to your washing machine.
• Ask a friend, neighbor or family member to check your home every week or two while you are away, especially during extended periods of cold weather.

Related links
Closing your home for the winter

Tags: Add new tag, snowbirds

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 12:05 pm and is filed under Energy conservation, Heating and cooling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.