Snowbirds

Sunshine, sand & heat
While keeping an eye out for your home

Flee the winter for the Sunshine state? According to the Canadian Snowbirds Association, between 700,000 and 800,000 people did it in 2017.

Florida is famous, but many other states are too. Vanessa Pépin, a former Sinopé Technologies employee who now lives in Arizona, has noticed the phenomenon in the past several weeks. “Where I work, we see tons of Canadians from the Rockies since the beginning of winter. For them, Arizona is their south. It’s here that they enjoy sun and heat”, she says.

Keep an eye out for your home.

Leaving your home for six months does require a great deal of preparation. And since it’s an annual migration, installing permanent devices to facilitate the control of your home remotely may be the best solution.

To all snowbirds: here are our recommendations to save energy and protect your home while you are away.

Easy access to your home

During extended periods of absence, experts recommend asking a trustworthy person to visit once in a while to water the plants and make sure everything is okay. Smart door locks that you can unlock from afar or share and change the code remotely can be helpful in these situations. You can then ask more than one person to look over your home.

Simulate a presence to keep thieves away

Leaving a single light on for several days doesn’t mislead anyone – it’s easy to see that nobody is home. Instead, you should consider smart light switches that you can control remotely or for which you can easily set a schedule, thus simulating real home presence.

Prevent water damages

If you don’t usually shut off the water before leaving (to allow watering plants, for instance), you should have a water damage protection system installed. Select one that automatically shuts off the main water inlet as soon as the water is sensed by one of the detectors. Make sure that you can receive SMS alerts or push notifications to be aware of an unusual situation that happens, and that the system also works in the event of a power or Internet failure to ensure the proper protection at all times. The Sedna system offers all these features, and there are no use charges or monthly fees. It’s an excellent alternative to systems that are linked to residential surveillance.

Energy savings

It goes without saying that if you’re away for several months, you shouldn’t have an expensive electricity bill. How can you reduce your energy consumption? That’s easy.

Equip your home with smart thermostats to have complete control of your heating. You will then be able to set the temperature remotely, and you will also receive e-mail alerts if something’s wrong and the house is either too cold or too warm. Stay connected with your home will prevent damage and other nasty surprises.

Besides, you can install an electrical load controller on your water heater to turn it off entirely during your absence, so it doesn’t take energy. The day before you return, you can turn it back on so the water reaches the right temperature, with everything working correctly upon your arrival.

Also, think about your second home.

Of course, these tips apply to your second home, no matter where. Keeping an eye out for your estates will bring peace of mind and help you save on your home insurance. Make sure to let them know before flying (or driving) south!