Prepping the house for Christmas holiday

Furts

joshp1407 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I would love to ask the neighbours, that's always what we did growing up, but unfortunately we've barely met anyone yet, but I think I might follow advice and ask (offer?) them to use our driveway whilst we're away. You never know, a Christmas card and a gift of a driveway might finally break the ice!

The idea of a webcam WobblyDog is genius! I use one already for my little one, thanks!

I wouldn't know where to start draining the system lazer, so I think the idea of a couple of hours in the night hopefully will work.

Gonna go top curtains closed, bottom open with timer circuits. Might do the trick.

I have neighbours who leave their televisions on. One uses a timer, another just leaves it on all the time. This is effective, and the flickering/changing pictures convey a lived in home better than leaving on a radio. Of course, this may mean more energy consumption, and the older generation were brought up to always switch off televisions and to unplug them at night. There was always a risk with fire safety - whether this risk was real I do not know.

Ebe_Scrooge

Alternatively, get a damn great Rottweiler and leave him in the house. He'll be starving hungry after a couple of days, so if anyone decides they want to break in ...... :rotfl:

But lights and a TV on a timer are always a good idea, especially if the time is random rather than the same time every day. You can actually get powered curtain opener/closers that you can also do on a timer, but that's probably more hassle and expense than most people want to deal with.

As previous posters have said, getting to know your neighbours over a mince pie and a glass of wine is a nice idea anyway, if you've not yet met them, and you really can't beat a good neighbour to keep an eye on the place when you're away. Even if you don't feel comfortable giving them a key, they can at least just keep a lookout for any unusual goings-on.

Robwiz

I can recommend a Fake TV led emulator. Best set up in an upstairs room where it's not possible to see that it isn't a real TV. They use less power and can be set to switch on at dusk.

Also, lamps on timers set to switch on and off at random during the hours of darkness and a radio on a talk station (5 Live).

redcar_2

Can I suggest you don't leave Christmas tree lights on a timer (or on whilst away) as these are more likely to fault in some way and be a fire risk. http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/christmas

yaz2010

Hi robwiz, you mentioned about Fake TV led emulator.

Have you used this ?

I am considering getting this and connecting it with a timer switch?

Ectophile

redcar wrote: »

Can I suggest you don't leave Christmas tree lights on a timer (or on whilst away) as these are more likely to fault in some way and be a fire risk. http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/christmas

I left a set of low voltage LED ones on a timer when I went away. Unlike the old light bulb ones, they don't get at all hot - even the transformer barely gets warm.

I put the lights between the net curtain and the window. I realised as I was going out shopping one day, that with the lights flashing away like mad, it was very difficult to see whether the curtains behind were open or closed.