Energy Savings Tips for the Holiday Season
8 December 2022One of the year's greatest pleasures is the Christmas season, but it is also considered one of the most expensive. The costs may add up fast between buying presents, decorating, and hosting parties. The amount of money we have to spend on things like food and decorations over the holidays may be significantly affected by how much energy we use.
It is also a long-standing custom in the country to deck the halls with elaborate holiday decorations. It is, after all, the one time of year when everyone goes a little overboard in their house and lot in the Philippines with the holiday decorations and all the lights.
These decorations may seem nice, but they may really make a dent in your wallet when you see the power bill. In addition to everything else you'll probably be spending money on over the holidays, a spike in your power bill is the last thing you need. Not to mention, it's bad for Mother Nature if we consume more energy than we need to.
To save power at home over the holidays, though, you need not adopt a Scrooge-like attitude. Here are some easy methods to reduce your carbon footprint while still having a great holiday season.
9 Handy Holiday Energy-Saving Tips
We understand that you're trying to save costs wherever possible, even with your electricity bill, in light of the global inflation now taking place. Fortunately, you can save costs by taking advantage of a variety of energy consumption-saving strategies this holiday season.
For Your Holiday Decorations
1. Prepare a checklist to monitor energy use.
Creating an energy checklist is a good starting step if you're serious about conserving energy for the holidays and cutting down on power costs is to make an energy checklist.
Your home's energy use checklist should include everything. It should cover items like lights, appliances, thermostats, and machinery. To efficiently reduce energy costs this Christmas season, it is important to create an energy checklist that includes checking and visiting every area in your home and including everything, including equipment and lights, that is likely to impact energy use.
2. Take note of holiday electricity peak hours.
It's also a good idea to be aware of your area's peak power use times. Through this, you may avoid using any unnecessary power by switching off your lights during certain hours or at least reducing the amount of time they're on. During electricity peak hours, when demand is highest, prices tend to be higher.
3. Think beyond the box for your holiday decorations.
Beautiful holiday décor is not limited to only Christmas lights. There are several ways to preserve the holiday mood without adding a significant amount to your monthly power bill.
Decorate without using power by making use of ribbons, garlands, and wreaths instead of lights. You may further reduce their environmental impact by adopting a "green" design. Use repurposed products to do this. Ornaments with high reflecting characteristics emit light and may add much-needed glitter to decors and displays, providing a wow factor without the additional cost of power.
4. Cut down on holiday lights.
If there is no other light source, your Christmas decorations will likely seem brighter. However, they will stand out much more if they are the only lights in the house. So turn off all lights, including lamps, ceiling fixtures, and outside lights, before using them and create a warmer Christmas atmosphere while also cutting your energy use.
Another option is to invest in a smart plug for the electrical socket that powers the holiday lights. For more energy-saving tips, you can simply switch off the lights whenever it's most convenient for you, either by voice command or using an app on your smartphone. If you're aiming for energy efficiency on your electric bill, it's a good idea to invest in a smart plug, some of which have a built-in timer to automatically switch on and off the connected lights.
5. Scale down your outdoor decorations.
Explore other options where holiday ornaments have a one-year lifespan. In this manner, your porch and yard decorations will always seem fresh since your neighbors won't have seen them the previous year. Changing the colors that go together each year is a clever approach to reduce energy use while lighting up the holidays.
6. Save energy by using LED lights.
You can save money on your holiday electricity bill by turning off your Christmas tree lights while the sun is out. Also, consider switching to more eco-friendly Christmas lights or other holiday illumination this season. In saving energy, change out your traditional incandescent lights or regular Christmas lights to LED Christmas lights, or invest in some timer-controlled holiday lights.
When Preparing Your Holiday Meals
7. Prepare your holiday meals ahead of time.
If you're going to be making separate meals at home, be sure to plan ahead so that everything that needs to go into the oven can be put in at the same time and stay at the same temperature. Furthermore, this is a great method for decreasing the amount of time your oven is in use.
As an added bonus, preparing food in a crockpot is more time- and energy-efficient than using the stovetop, so you can leave the gravy simmer while you take care of other matters and complete more of your holiday cooking.
8. Use the oven light.
Turn on the oven light instead of opening the door to see how the meal is doing. It's a good method to circulate warm air and keep the heat in. It's also important to remember that opening the oven door might cause a temperature reduction of up to 25 percent. This not only increases your oven's energy usage but also delays the start of your next cooking session as it returns to the proper temperature.
Meanwhile, when using a stovetop, remember to cover your pots to retain as much heat as possible when cooking. This method may reduce the amount of time spent cooking and the amount of energy used in the kitchen.
9. Be creative in preparing your holiday dinner.
When having a large group of guests around for dinner, it is better if you can organize a potluck. In this manner, you can give your stove a well-deserved break while still serving a delicious feast for the holidays. Solicit each guest to provide a dish to the feast. If you can reduce the amount you spend on food ingredients, you'll see a decrease in both your power cost and your grocery bill.
Conserve Energy with an Environment-Friendly Community
Enjoying one other's company, cooking delicious meals together, and sharing good cheer are hallmarks of the Christmas season. With all the festive lighting, it's easy to lose sight of the need of conserving electricity. However, you'd rather put that money into buying presents, putting up festive decorations, and cooking a special dinner for your loved ones than spending it on high electric bills!
You can now reduce your carbon footprint while smartly finding ways to save energy by getting a home investment from Lumina Homes.
Our affordable house and lot for sale are built inside a greener and sustainable community, giving our residents and future homeowners more options to save energy and daily costs. These subdivisions are also close to almost everything, providing easy access and movability to everyone.
Make your affordable house and lot reservations now with Lumina Homes and let us create a greener community together
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