Do U unplug electric things while on vacation

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Just wondered if anyone else unplugs things such as TV, microwave, computers, washer/dryer, ect. when you go on vacation. We do this encase their is a power surge which might damage the items. We have these items plugged into a surge protector but I dont want to chance it. Plus even though it is turned off it still uses phantom power so why pay for a week of electricity if we are not there. Want to know more about phantom power.
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-transport/penny-pinching-save-energy-by.html

So do you unplug things when going on vacation?

 

[Pigeon]

We have most of our electronic stuff like TVs and computers on power strips that we turn off any time when we aren't using them to save from wasting energy.

 

[kahblue]

I unplug little now like the toaster oven, electric toothbrushes, coffee pot, etc. When we went away for 2 weeks last August I also unplugged my son's electronics: TV, Wii, charger. I did not unplug big things like our main TVs, computer washer/dryer. They are all on surge protectors.

However, I did take this opportunity to unplug our little fridge we keep in the kitchen for beer, wine, water, etc and the freezer in our garage. They were pretty much empty anyway since I was trying to use up the food we had. It also gave me a chance to give them a good cleaning. Our elecric bill was $40 cheaper so it was worth it.

 

[toomanycars]

Yes, we unplug all the computers, TVs and small items. Also we turn off the hot water heater. Our power bill drops about a half while we are gone. We count this drop in our Disney trip budget.

 

[DawnM]

We unplug quite a bit, but we have the dogs in the house while we are gone so we probably don't do it as much as we could if they were not here. We don't turn the heat or ac down as much with the dogs here for example.

We were unplugging all TVs and DVRs until I got upset that I missed shows! It won't be an issue once we ditch our satellite service and do streaming anyway.

Dawn

 

[scrapquitler]

Just wondered if anyone else unplugs things such as TV, microwave, computers, washer/dryer, ect. when you go on vacation. We do this encase their is a power surge which might damage the items. We have these items plugged into a surge protector but I dont want to chance it. Plus even though it is turned off it still uses phantom power so why pay for a week of electricity if we are not there. Want to know more about phantom power.
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-transport/penny-pinching-save-energy-by.html

So do you unplug things when going on vacation?

No, I don't. The TV, TiVo and cable box must stay plugged in because they are working for me day and night to record the shows I have pre-programmed. My Washer/dryer stay plugged in because I can't reach the plugs without moving the appliances, Our computers are laptops, and go with us on vacation. I supposed I could unplug the microwave, but then the clock would never get reset again I'm not worried about electrical surges, where we live the power almost NEVER goes out, and I have insurance in case of freak things happening. And it would be a big pain to run around plugging things in and unplugging them all the time (it would involve a lot of moving furniture, moving appliances, etc).

I have another relative, on the other hand runs around unplugging EVERYTHING every single time she leaves the house She is convinced that if she doesn't the house is going to spontaneously combust.

 

[briand1023]

We turn off computers at the power strip when not in use

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

If we're going to be gone a week or more I do, but I learned the hard way not to cut power to the dvr. Live & learn!

 

[lady_bug_888]

Currently the only thing we unplug is the Computer (and sometimes we don't).

I must comment though, when I was a bachelorette I used to unplug everything when I wasn't using them. That meant the TV was unplugged 80% of the time (I am not a big TV lover), the computer was unplugged 25 % of the time and the microwave about 50% of the time. I never unplugged my phone or fridge. There was a HUGE savings in my power bill though. My bill was reduced by about 50% which was crazy!

I think after reading this thread I'll have to talk to DH about unplugging things more often--not just on vacation. I know there is a TV in DS's room that he only uses when he's really sick but it's probably plugged in. We also have a heater that we only use at night and sometimes not even then so that could be unplugged.

I bet we can save at least $10-$20/month by unplugging some things! That's enough money for a good portion of our car rental at Disney in August!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Saving $10-$20 a month over 12 months could be a good way to save for WDW trips.
As well as collecting spare change in a jar. We have $253 in rolled coins to cash in for our May trip!
I turn down the heat and H2O tank as well.

Currently the only thing we unplug is the Computer (and sometimes we don't).

I must comment though, when I was a bachelorette I used to unplug everything when I wasn't using them. That meant the TV was unplugged 80% of the time (I am not a big TV lover), the computer was unplugged 25 % of the time and the microwave about 50% of the time. I never unplugged my phone or fridge. There was a HUGE savings in my power bill though. My bill was reduced by about 50% which was crazy!

I think after reading this thread I'll have to talk to DH about unplugging things more often--not just on vacation. I know there is a TV in DS's room that he only uses when he's really sick but it's probably plugged in. We also have a heater that we only use at night and sometimes not even then so that could be unplugged.

I bet we can save at least $10-$20/month by unplugging some things! That's enough money for a good portion of our car rental at Disney in August!

 

[mrodgers]

Everything except as was mentioned, the DVR, and the sump pump (don't want to come home to 8 feet of water in the basement if it rains.) AC (window unit), stove, TVs, stereos, gaming consoles, computers, washing machine, dryer, dehumidifier, I would just throw the main breaker if I didn't have some of the lights on timers. All of that stuff is on surge protectors (as in TVs, stereos, consoles, and computer stuff) so it's easy to just pull 1 plug and have 5 items removed from the electric service. I flip the breaker to the well pump, hot water tank, dishwasher, and furnace off (obviously I would leave this on but turned down if it was winter.)

 

[eyor44]

I unplug all of the little stuff while we are gone and we turn down the water heaters if we are gone for a week or more.

 

[CastleChick]

We unplugged microwave, kids' tv/wii/vcr and computer while we went on our cruise. We left 2 tv's plugged in and the dish box so that my shows could still DVR.

I wanted to unplug one of the tv's but I wasn't sure if the dvr would still record on tv 2 if that tv wasn't plugged into the wall.

 

[Carlyzmom]

Glad to know I'm not the only one who does this! I DO leave the DVR plugged in though!

I'm a "checker" so I even started taking photos of the stove (with my cell phone) before I leave so I KNOW it isn't on. I need help!

 

[kimgg]

I don't. I guess I am the opposite of OCD .

This is funny to me b/c when my sister was watching my house for me while we were on vacation and feeding our pets, she notified me in a concerned tone that we had forgotten to unplug a small portable electric heater . It was not left on, just plugged in, and it was in the kitchen on a tile floor. I told her, no, I did not forget, I always leave it plugged in. Bad me!

Sometimes I wonder how we are related, we do things so differently! It was funny to me, but since these boards are for people who are pretty detailed in other ways, I'm probably in the minority of people who don't do things like that around here. .