As the holiday season approaches, it’s time to consider some basic tips to help ensure that you have peace of mind while on your next vacation.

Let’s face it, when you’re dining with friends and family or enjoying a cup of lemonade whilst basking in the rays just off the coastline, you shouldn’t have to worry about home security.

Here are some useful tips to help keep your home safe and secure while you’re away.

1. Make it look as though someone is home

It’s important to make your house look occupied in order to deter burglars.

• Ask your local newspaper or mail man to hold your mailings so they don’t accumulate on your doorstep or in your mailbox.
• Keep your car parked in your garage and have a neighbor periodically park in your driveway so it looks as though activity is going on at your house.
• Use a timer to turn on house lights and have it set to shut them off as well.
• Maintain your lawn and ensure that it is being up kept while you’re away.

2. Prepare for Your Home absence

• Call ECM to schedule an a/c maintenance or tune-up visit before your trip to that you can ensure that your Air Conditioning equipment is working at its optimal efficiency while you’re away.
• Keep your thermostat set to 85 degrees. This will help to protect your plants and furniture as well as keep your energy bill down.
• Ensure your smoke detectors are working and the batteries are fresh.
• Remove any food from your fridge and trash that can spoil while you’re away.
• Turn off water valves to the dishwasher, washing machine and sinks to reduce the risk of potential water leakage.

3. Utilize SMART-home devices

With the ever-growing industry of IoT (Internet of Things), it is becoming easier for people to manage their home while they’re away. With the use of smart lights, security systems & thermostats accessible through mobile apps, the ease of checking in on your home is just a mobile device away. With the Lennox iComfort S30 smart thermostat, you’re able to enable the “Smart Away Mode” which uses GPS to detect when you’re leaving your home and it automatically adjusts your a/c system to a more efficient energy setting. Vice versa, when you’re returning home it sets the system back to normal so that your home feels just the way you like it upon returning and entering your home. Talk about VIP service! Let ECM explain more about this A/C SMART technology and how you can upgrade your system to the latest SMART tech by giving the customer questions hotline a ring at 561.586.3739

4. Tell only the people that need to know you’ll be away

• Make sure the house sitter has a list of important numbers, including ECM’s main customer service hotline just incase a repairman is needed for an unexpected repair.
• Don’t advertise on social sites that you’ll be away.
• Let credit card companies know you’ll be out of town to protect your accounts from any unauthorized use while you are away.

Planning a vacation shouldn’t be stressful and the security of your home as well as appliances shouldn’t be an issue on your mind.

Therefore, remember to have you’re a/c system tune-up before you leave and feel free to ask one of our Total Home Comfort Experts about any additional heating and cooling tips that you can implement before leaving home.

Bon voyage!

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