Opening Christmas presents is fun, but opening the electricity bill after the holidays might not be. All the festivities—the gatherings, feasts and lights—can result in higher-than-normal post-holiday bills.
But you can celebrate and ward off that big bill by being energy efficient. Try these tips to help save.
- Limit the duration of your lighting display. It’s tempting to go all out all the time with Christmas decorations, but limiting lighting time to 6 hours per night saves energy.
- Switch to LED holiday lights, which use significantly less energy and last longer.
- Use fiber-optic decorations, which usually have one central lightbulb rather than many dispersed bulbs.
- Lower your thermostat. Setting it just a few degrees cooler can translate to about 1% savings per degree over eight hours.
- Turn down your heater if you have company. Cooking appliances, lights, and additional occupants can increase a home’s temperature.
- Switch off overhead lights when the Christmas tree is lit. You can enjoy the warm ambiance of soft lights.
- Give gifts that don’t require electricity. Think about how the items you gift might affect energy bills.
- Bake several dishes in the oven at once. If the oven is on, then you might as well take advantage of the heat to multitask.
- Use your toaster oven or microwave for smaller cooking tasks.
- Cook with lids on pots to reduce energy use.
- Unplug energy users such as TVs, gaming systems, printers, and other electronics before you go on vacation and whenever they’re not in use.
- Close exterior doors after guests arrive. Don’t linger in the foyer with the door open, as it will let out your home’s comfortable heated air.
- Don a Christmas sweater. Adding another layer might help you feel warmer so you can turn down the thermostat.