What do I want this holiday season? A cheaper electric bill would help. During the holidays, we spend an enormous amount of energy decorating our homes, yards, and hosting family gatherings. Save some green this year by going green with your energy sources.
The number one thing that saps energy is the lights. We hang lights on our Christmas trees, in our living spaces, on the trees outside, and on our homes. The lights by themselves don’t suck up much energy, but add several strings of lights and keep them on all evening, and it really adds up. It’s not necessary to keep your decorations lit up all night long. Turn them off when you go to bed, or after a few hours. You can buy an inexpensive timer that will turn them on and off automatically for you, so you don’t have to try to remember. A timer allows you to stick to your budget too, by letting you set a limit to how long your lights burn energy.
Instead of purchasing the usual lights for decoration, consider LED lights. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. These lights are controlled by computer chip technology and do not emit any heat. This keeps the lights from being a fire hazard should they rest on a dried tree branch or a piece of paper. LED lights also don’t use as much energy. But, these are not the only lights that could be replaced. Think about the lights in your fixtures. Are they the regular tungsten filament light bulbs? These light bulbs use more energy and don’t last as long.
CFL bulbs have become very popular. They provide brighter light and use fewer kilowatts to do it. CFL stands for Compact Fluorescent Light. You’ve probably seen those coiled bulbs in the store. They are made to fit any light fixture now, even bathroom vanities. Replacing your old bulbs with these ensures brighter lighting for your holiday parties, at an incredible energy savings. If you don’t want to invest a lot of money up front to switch out all the bulbs in your home, replace your old bulbs with CFL ones as they burn out. Eventually your home will have mostly, if not all, CFL lights.
Keeping the thermostat at a constant temperature saps less energy in the long run. Depending on who walks past the thermostat, it keeps going up or down (my husband cranks it up, I keep turning it down). This is a mistake because every change means more energy to meet the new temperature request. So please tell my husband that my setting is the best possible option, and he should leave it alone. Thank you!
Looking to spend less this holiday season? Don’t forget to include energy bills in that equation. Have a bright holiday, with funds left over to light it up the night for your New Years’ celebration!
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