Travel can be expensive, but do you ever think of the ways you can save money on holiday? Most people don't want to think about home while they're enjoying a well earned break. However, a little preparation can help slash your bills while your home is empty.
Here are some of our top tips on how to save money on holiday by keeping your household bills as low as possible.
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Go lights out to save money on holiday
One of the simplest ways to save money at home while you're on holiday is to make sure all the lights at home are switched off. Lighting is a steady drain on your electricity bill, and a light left on 24/7 adds up fast.
Under the October 2026 energy price cap, leaving a single 10W LED bulb switched on for a month costs around £1.90. An old-style 100W bulb, if you still have one lurking in a lamp somewhere, would cost closer to £19 over the same period.
Should you turn your fridge off when you're away on holiday?
Whether or not to turn your fridge off while you're away depends on how long you're travelling for, and what you're storing in the fridge. If you're away for a few weeks and have emptied your fridge entirely, turning it off at the wall is a great way to save energy. Just be sure to leave the door open a crack to let air circulate and stop it developing a musty odour.
If you still have food that needs to be kept cool you can adjust your fridge temperature to be slightly higher than normal. The fact that you won't be opening the fridge door means it will stay cooler anyway, and nudging the temperature up will save energy.
It's a good idea to clear out perishable food from the fridge before you travel. Otherwise, you can find yourself returning to a nasty mess that needs cleaning out. A fuller fridge holds its temperature better each time the door is opened, so filling the empty space with bottles or tupperware full of water is a free way to help it along once you're back and using it normally again.
What temperature should I leave my heating at while I'm away?
If you're travelling in summer, make sure your thermostat is turned completely off and any home cooling or air conditioning isn't set to kick in automatically. Draw your curtains to stop the sun from heating your home and keep things cooler for when you return.
Travelling during the winter is a different story. While it might be tempting to turn your heating off completely, when temperatures are low you risk an even more expensive problem than a heating bill - frozen pipes. To prevent your pipes from bursting, leave your heating on at a low temperature. Recommendations vary between 5°C and 15°C, but look at how cold the forecast will be. You want to keep your home's internal temperature above freezing.
Hunt down vampire devices to save money on holiday
Do you leave electrical devices plugged in when you're not using them? Unplugging devices from the wall prevents them drawing electricity even when they're turned off - what's known as the 'phantom power load'.
Just turning a device off, instead of to standby mode, doesn't always stop it using power. To cut your home energy use as much as possible while you're away, unplug any device that won't be used.
The Energy Saving Trust estimates a typical household would save around £45 a year by switching appliances off standby rather than leaving them plugged in. In Northern Ireland the figure is closer to £55.
Some of the best devices to hunt down and unplug include:
Your WiFi router - you won't need your home network while you're away. Skip this one if you have security cameras, a smart doorbell or anything else that needs to stay online
Smart speakers - by default they're always on so they can be voice activated
Your microwave - even when turned off it stays in standby mode to maintain its digital clock, so you will need to reset this once you come back
Game consoles - they keep drawing power to perform background updates
Before you go, it's also worth checking you're not overpaying the rest of the year. Our guide to whether a smart meter saves money covers how to spot where your energy is actually going.
