Leaving Home for a Holiday Vacation? Ensure Your Florida Home Is Safe With These Tips

December 17, 2013 - Published by Scott's Air

As careful as you probably are about home safety on a day-to-day basis, it’s even more important to take precautions if you’re leaving home for a holiday vacation. In addition to deterring burglars, you’ll enjoy peace of mind while you’re gone and return to find your home exactly as you left it.

Like everything else involved in taking a vacation, details abound. To help you keep track of some trusty home safety tips, make a to-do list, courtesy of your friends at Scott’s Heating & Air Conditioning:

Tell a trusted neighbor of your vacation plans so that he or she can keep an eye on your home and, if necessary, return garbage or recycling bins to their proper place. Be sure to provide a heads-up to your home security company if you have one and alert the post office to hold your mail.
Keep window treatments in their usual state to avoid arousing suspicion that you’re on vacation. Be sure to keep valuables, including computers, TVs and stereo equipment, out of sight.
Place timers on your indoor lamps and install motion-sensitive lights at the front, sides and back of your home. Lights are great burglary deterrents and more affordable than you might think.
Lock your doors and windows and safeguard sliding glass doors by placing a pole in the track. Check every window in your home, from the top level down. Burglars can sometimes enter a home more easily from a second-story window than from a first-story door.
Unplug all of your appliances, except the refrigerator. Shut off the main water valve to prevent flooding in the event of a plumbing issue and turn off the water heater.
Deactivate your garage door opener to deter mechanically-savvy burglars. Be sure to manually lock the latch too.

To finish your home safety list, don’t forget to leave the phone number of Scott’s Heating & Air Conditioning with that trustworthy neighbor, just in case an emergency arises with your HVAC system.

Scott's Air

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Scott’s Heating & Air Conditioning is a full-service heating and air conditioning company and a Bryant® Factory Authorized Dealer in Central Florida. Whether you need repair, maintenance, or installation of a new heating or cooling system, we provide efficient, cost-effective, and professional service. When it’s hot, call Scott!

Tags: energy efficiency, holiday vacation, home safety, orlando florida

Categorised in: Thing You Should Know

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UPDATE 12/11/25-
Mr. Scott, the owner took the time to speak with me the day before to take ownership of the unfortunate event, and to rectify it, he personally came over to speak to me and issued a refund for the blower motor replacement to honor me being a customer and purchasing the unit from them in recent times. This speaks a lot about his integrity and customer centric approach. Even though I didn’t hear from them initially for a few months, this was a great gesture in difficult times, and I appreciate this, therefore updating my review.

STAY AWAY!!!

I purchased a new AC system from Scott’s Air & Heat in 2022 for approximately $7,000. Since then, I have already spent over $1,500 on repairs in 2 years. Despite the system having a 10-year parts warranty, I was charged $650 for labor alone to replace a blower motor—a repair that took about one hour to complete. Another reputable company quoted $500 total, including both parts and labor, for the same job.

Additionally, I was charged $258 for the same issue just a week prior, and when the problem recurred, the company billed me again instead of honoring their previous service. Attempts to reach the owner or manager for a resolution went unanswered.

Overall, I found their pricing to be excessive and their customer service severely lacking. I would not recommend this company based on my experience.

Response from the owner:Hi, Thank you for taking Scott's call today & allowing us to make this right. We're looking forward to meeting you tomorrow with the hopes of being able to earn your 5-star rating. We genuinely care for our customers and their families and want you to be 100% satisfied. Thank you again.

Robin Preucil

It’s been a long process, but Scott did call personally to make sure that our ac unit was working properly. They even upgraded to the correct size unit we needed after many repairs and issues. I appreciate the follow through and transparent communication! They will make sure to follow up and help when needed. Thank you Scott and team!!!!

Response from the owner:Hi Robin, Thank you so much for giving us an opportunity to make this right. We're happy to hear your system is running good now & we were able to turn your experience around. Thank you for trusting us with your home.

Karon Phillips

12/11/25

Same day update! I want to applaud Scott, the owner, for contacting me about my concerns regarding the labor charge for our last job. It was a disappointment that I had to have such an expensive charge on a relatively new unit. However, we talked about it, and he’s going to try to help. I appreciate any owner who listens to customers and wants to try to make things right. Thank you, Scott. I guess I don’t have to shop around for a new AC company for now.

12/11/25
Just to clarify. My response says that I’m frustrated to pay for labor for a warranty repair. I didn’t understand this was a warranty repair and I always am fine with paying for labor if a job is done. I believe my review explains my frustration with flat fees no matter how long the job takes.

10/8/25
Update today. The price that was quoted me was not only labor. They are charging flat fees for jobs. This is a change from the past with HVAC companies , but with more explanation and a little flexibility, I think we will stay with Scott’s for the time being. We’ll see how it goes. They still remain extremely responsive and professional and kind. This is worth something. They also come quickly when you have a problem.

This is a big change in my review for this company. Over the past five years things have changed. The company I used to trust I am now very skeptical of. They no longer charge labor by the hour so that you pay more for something that is more difficult and less for something that is less difficult. Just flat fees. And extremely high ones at that! Guess I’m looking for a new company now.

Response from the owner:Hi Karon, Thank you for trusting us with your home all these years. I can understand your frustration in having to pay labor for a warranty repair. The warranty from the manufacturer (not us) only covers the part itself. We value our customers and our community & want to make sure we take care of you and your home. We've left you a message & hope you'll return our call so we can make this right.

Mia Torres

Chelsie was absolutely amazing!! She was on time, super friendly and personable! She was knowledgeable and even took the time to explain the problem and solution with our ac. I highly recommend them to service your HVAC needs!