News & Events
Putting Your Smart Home in Holiday Mode
August 12th, 2026
Maximising Security and Energy Savings
Leaving your home unattended during holidays can leave you feeling anxious. It’s normal to worry about break-ins, burst pipes, or even wasted energy. Combined, these worries can contribute to ruining what should be a relaxing getaway. The good news is, with home automation, gone are the days of checking every lock, setting plug-in timers, and adjusting radiator valves manually. We can turn to “Holiday Mode”, a pre-programmed scene integrated into your smart home system that simultaneously locks down home security and executes smart energy saving strategies.
How Does Holiday Mode Enhance Home Security When You Are Away?
Holiday mode enhances home security by using advanced occupancy simulation, CCTV, and smart access control to make your empty property look fully lived in and impenetrable.
Smart home control platforms like Control4, Crestron, or Lutron track your daily routines, and can play them back while you are away from home for extended periods. This creates a highly convincing environment to deter intruders much more effectively than basic timer plugs.
- Occupancy Simulation: Smart home systems simulate the look of occupancy (mockupancy), automatically carrying out actions like opening blinds in the morning, and turning on specific lights at dusk to precisely mimic your natural daily routine.
- Perimeter Defence: Holiday mode can use smart gates and motion-sensor perimeter lighting to proactively secure the property line.
- CCTV: The latest AI-driven CCTV systems intelligently filter out wildlife or wind, alerting you only to genuine security threats.
- Smart Access Control: Smart control systems can generate temporary or time-restricted access codes for cleaners, pet sitters, or anyone you have trusted to check on your house, eliminating the risk of lost spare keys.
| Secure Feature | Basic Home Setup | Smart Home Integration |
| Lighting Control | Static timer plugs (predictable and obvious) | Dynamic occupancy simulation (mimics actual routines) |
| Property Access | Hidden physical spare keys | Time-restricted, trackable smart codes |
| CCTV & Alerts | Basic motion alerts for all movement | AI-filtered alerts (ignoring pets, wind and wildlife) |
What Are the Best Energy Saving Strategies for an Empty House?
The most effective energy saving strategies for an empty house involve using smart thermostats to maintain a low target temperature, as well as automated blinds and smart leak sensors to prevent water damage.
Dropping the ambient temperature to an optimal standby level drastically reduces heating bills without letting the house freeze if you are away during the winter. Integrated temperature and water leak sensors provide ultimate peace of mind by immediately shutting off the main water valve if a pipe bursts.
- Lower Home Temperature: Automated zoned heating maintains a safe, cost-effective baseline temperature throughout the home to lower your carbon footprint.
- Frost protection: Automated pipe monitoring helps prevent catastrophic water damage during sudden winter freezes.
- Thermal Insulation: Automated heavy curtains close automatically at sunset to retain interior heat and prevent drafts.
- Passive Solar Warming: Automated blinds open on sunny days to take in natural heat, actively reducing reliance on your central heating systems.
| Zone | Active Occupancy Temperature | “Holiday Mode” Set Temperature |
| Living Areas | 18℃ – 22℃ | 12℃ – 14℃ |
| Bedrooms | 16℃ – 18℃ | 12℃ – 14℃ |
| Utility Room | 12℃ – 15℃ | 10℃ (Minimum for Frost Protection) |
How Can I Control My Smart Home Remotely While Travelling?
A smart home provides the peace of mind that you can keep complete control of your property remotely wherever you are. A simple smartphone app provides real-time CCTV feeds, access to climate control, and secure access management anywhere in the world, providing you have a mobile internet connection or Wi-Fi.
Modern home automation cuts out the frustrating need to juggle multiple applications. Instead, you benefit from a seamless user experience that responds instantly, whether you’re lounging on a tropical beach, or at the airport terminal.
- Unified App Experience: Check security cameras, adjust heating, or unlock gates securely through one intuitive interface.
- Geofencing Automation: You can set Geofencing to trigger your home into “Holiday Mode” automatically, the moment your phone leaves a predetermined radius around your home.
- Arrive Home to Comfort: Your smart home can be set so that the temperatures ramp back up to your preferred levels when you get close to home.
Is Your Home Ready for “Holiday Mode”?
True peace of mind on holiday comes from knowing your home is actively protecting and managing itself while you’re away. By combining dynamic security simulation with automated, high-efficiency energy management, “Holiday Mode” lets you disconnect, relax and enjoy your getaway, whilst staying connected to your home and confident that it is safe and secure.
Off-the-shelf smart plugs and separate DIY apps are often disjointed, insecure, and unreliable. This is why it’s always a smart idea to invest in bespoke, professionally installed and programmed smart control systems.
- Bespoke Design: Every smart home system can be engineered to match the exact requirements of your home.
- Seamless Integration: Lighting, security, climate control, and audio-visual systems all work together in harmony.
- Expert Network Installation: Professional installation ensures robust network reliability, removing the headache of dropping connections and
Ready to upgrade your property with intelligent home automation tailored to your lifestyle? Fed up of spending your holidays worrying about your home?
Contact the experts at Veritais to discuss your bespoke smart home installation and start travelling with ultimate confidence.
