Going on Vacation This Winter? You’ll Want to Read This First

This is about the time of year when even the most loyal of ski bums start dreaming of warmer ventures. If you’re planning on leaving your wintery town in search of tanned skin and bottomless mojitos, make sure that your home is fully protected by your home security system while you’re on vacation.

The last thing you want after a relaxing week of fun is to return home to a disaster.

A river runs through it

Nothing’s worse than stepping on your carpet to find that it’s soaking wet. If you’re really unfortunate, you could be stepping in sewer water that has been seeping for a week while you were away. 

But sewer backups aren’t the only potential contributors to a flooded home. During the winter, you may be at risk of pipes freezing and bursting. Whether you leave your heater too low while you’re away (cue the Nest Learning Thermostat) or a cold snap comes through, your pipes could burst. This free-flow of water is enough to ruin drywall, flooring, and more.

Fortunately, using something as simple as a Flood Sensor will keep you on top of the game during your vacation. Your home security system will let you know immediately when disaster strikes, even if you are hundreds of miles away. This gives you the opportunity to send someone out right away to assess the situation. 

Heaters gonna heat

You’ve probably experienced the nagging feeling that you forgot to turn down the thermostat before leaving on vacation. Instead of spending your whole trip wondering how much it’s going to cost to heat your empty home for a week, you can check on your Nest Learning Thermostat when you land — right from your smartphone.

And the best part of a smart thermostat is that you don’t have to return to a cold home after a sunny vacation. Use your smartphone to turn the heat back up on the way home from the airport. That way, you walk right into a cozy, heated home.

The lights are on, but nobody’s home

As you go through the steps to make sure your home looks occupied when you’re gone, you may be tempted to leave on a light on the whole time you’re gone. But nothing screams empty home more than one random light being left on 24/7. Setting your Smart Light Bulbs on a schedule will better give your home the appearance of being occupied.

So rest easy on that sandy beach and let your smart home work for you. When you bundle your home security system with the right home automation tools, you’ll have complete peace of mind anytime you’re away on vacation.