Planning time away for spring break? Why not give your wallet a break while you’re on the road. With a little planning, you can keep your energy costs to a minimum while you take to the road or skies by following these six tips:

Six energy-saving tips during vacation:

1. Kill the lights – Turn off all lights, fans, and other non-essential appliances.
2. Call us – If you are an automatic heating oil delivery customer, let us know if you’re leaving town for a while. Your delivery date is based on an estimate of your past heating oil use – if you aren’t around using heating oil, that estimate will be off, and you’ll get an unnecessary delivery.
3. Turn down the thermostat – Turn down your thermostat to 55 degrees, but don’t turn it completely off to avoid a build-up of moisture in your home. Also, make sure your thermostat is set for “auto” rather than “on” to prevent your blower fan from running 24/7.
4. Turn off your water heater – If you have an electric water heater, shut it down at the breaker so it’s not keeping your reserve hot water warm when you don’t need it.
5. Keep non-perishables in the fridge – A full refrigerator is more energy-efficient than a half-empty one, so resist the urge to dump non-perishables when you leave town.
6. Turn away the “vampires” – Any appliance or device with a light on it draws current – this is often referred to as “vampire power.” To keep the energy suckers away, unplug anything with a light on it. This includes your TV, media players, cable boxes, computers, ovens, microwaves, and other appliances. If you use a smart strip, power it off.

Ready for spring break? So is heating equipment. Beat the crowds and schedule your annual heating maintenance before you hit the road! If you haven’t scheduled your air conditioning maintenance for the coming year, we can take care of that, too – contact us today to learn more.