Winter has arrived, and Christmas is about to light up your life. With the holiday season can come higher energy costs. Our gift to you is this list of energy-saving tips to lighten up your electricity consumption. Here are the top tips this season.
1: Use power strips and timers for lights.
Don’t turn on your Christmas lights until it’s dark. Turn them off when you get into bed for the night. Try to use them no more than about six hours a day. If you have trouble remembering to do this, set a timer, and rest easy.
2: Use fiber optic decorations.
Fiber optic trees and decorations are the leaders in energy efficiency, and they’re beautiful, too. In some cases, there’s just one single lightbulb at the base of the decoration. This will save a significant amount of energy, and it’s also fun choosing new decorations.
3: Switch to LED Christmas lights.
LED Christmas lights use 90 percent less electricity than regular Christmas lights, providing easy and immediate savings. You can find them for around $10 a strand, and they can even offer exciting extra features like the ability to change colors.
4: Turn the thermostat down when you have guests.
Bodies radiate a surprising amount of heat. When you have guests, the extra heat that is generated means additional warmth for you at no cost.
5: Unplug phantom energy users before heading out on Christmas vacation.
TVs, DVD players, DVRs, computers, printers and many other electronics use electricity even when they are turned off. It’s always a good idea, for a couple of reasons, to unplug these before you go on vacation. Use the savings for your next vacation.
