answer:I would certainly recommend turning everything off, if you are going to be away from a place for an extended period of time, if for no other reason than the fact that you really don’t need an electric bill. My late uncle had a summer vacation home in NC, and when he would leave it for the winter, he would throw the master switch on the circuit breaker box, and everything electrical in that place would be shut off, except for the battery-powered clocks.