Every summer, families lock the front door and hit the road without a second thought about what’s left running at home. The thermostat keeps the living room cool for nobody. The water heater fires up every few hours on schedule. Electronics glow quietly in standby mode, sipping power around the clock. By the time you return, your home has racked up energy usage you never needed.

A few smart moves before you head out the door can trim your next bill, and the fix is simpler than you might expect. Here’s what to tackle before you leave.

Set the thermostat — but don’t turn it off

Shutting down your AC entirely before a vacation sounds smart, but it often backfires. When you return and crank it back down, your system has to work overtime to recover, using more energy in those first hours than it would have spent just ticking along at a higher setting. The right move: raise the thermostat to 82 to 85 degrees. Switch the fan from “on” to “auto.” If you have a smart thermostat, activate vacation or eco mode. Your home stays protected from humidity and mold, and you won’t come home to a sweltering house.

Put your water heater on vacation, too

Water heating accounts for about 20 percent of home energy use, and your water heater has no idea you’ve left town. Unless you adjust it, it will keep a full tank hot around the clock, losing heat through the walls and reheating constantly, all week long. Most water heaters have a vacation mode right on the dial. If yours doesn’t, consider dropping the temperature to around 50 degrees.

Unplug – literally

“Off” doesn’t always mean off. TVs, gaming consoles, cable boxes, and chargers draw power continuously as long as they’re plugged in, a phenomenon that can account for up to 10 percent of your monthly bill, called “phantom energy.” Before you leave, unplug anything with a standby light or a digital display. Better yet, plug groups of devices into a smart power strip so one switch cuts them all.

A few quick fixes

• Close the blinds. Sunlight through unshaded windows heats a room fast, making your AC work harder even at a high setpoint. Closing curtains before you leave is free and effective.
• Use timers for lights. Don’t leave all your lights on. Instead, put a lamp or two on a plug-in timer to turn them on for a few hours each evening. It saves energy and creates the appearance of an occupied home.
• Turn off all ceiling fans. Fans cool people, not rooms. They’re wasting energy when no one’s home.
• Dial back the pool and spa. Reduce your pool pump run time, lower the spa heater temperature, and use a cover to cut evaporation.

None of this takes long: just a quick walk-through and a few adjustments before you load the car. Now go enjoy the trip.