Vacations & Holidays
If you are away from home for a few days or a few weeks, you would expect your energy bill to be lower. This makes sense, because with no people around less energy is used. No one is taking showers, cooking, turning lights on, etc. However, don't expect your bill to go down in proportion to the amount of time you are gone. Even though people are not in the home, some of your major appliances are still using energy. For example, your refrigerator, freezer, and water heater will still run as needed. You may have put some of your lights on timers, and your heating or cooling system may still need to run. Most people want to keep their homes from getting extremely hot or cold when they are away.
Expect your energy bills to be higher if you take a vacation from work and stay at home. Similarly, when children are home on school breaks or summer vacation, you will use more energy and have higher bills. Vacations at home mean more people using lights, appliances, televisions and computers. You may also cook more meals at home. You may lower the heating thermostat (or raise the air conditioning thermostat) when everyone is off at work or school. During vacations at home, you probably won't do this, therefore you will use more energy to heat or cool your home.
Holiday celebrations can also increase your energy bills. Holiday cooking and baking certainly contribute to a higher bill. If you have quests for the holiday, you will likely increase your use of your lighting, water heater, and television, for example. Decorative lighting - both inside and outside the home - also contributes to higher bills during the holiday season.