If you decorated your home for Christmas, these holiday energy savings tips might help you.
Coming into the home stretch of 2013, McCauley Electric would like to offer you some holiday energy savings tips. You probably spent one Saturday afternoon decorating your home inside and out with colorful sentiments of the holiday season. The bushes and front porch are covered with dancing lights, the yard has a few cartoon figurines all a glow and the mantel has lit garland. Don’t forget the mistletoe. If you count all the lights, you’re probably looking at a pretty hefty utility bill come January. Not to mention all the holiday baking and cooking. You’re using electricity in the kitchen too. These holiday energy savings tips will help you save a little at the end of the year.
- Try to Use LED Christmas Lights: In our last blog post we explained how some Christmas lights give off less heat and are great for fire safety. LED lights also use less energy – about 90% less – so you can save.
- Decorate with Candles: A cool substitute for lights are candles. You have seen some of your neighbors with candles in their front windows. They might even have a pretty red bow in the same windows. Using candles saves on energy usage because you can purchase plastic battery operated candles, which also keeps you safe from house fires.
- Decorate with Fiber Optic Decorations: Think of it as two birds with one stone. Fiber optic Christmas decorations use one light bulb to illuminate the entire figure. For example, you can place some fiber optic trees at the side of your front door to welcome visitors this holiday season.
- Use the Decorations for Light: If the Christmas tree can provide enough light to fill a room, there is no need to turn on the ceiling lights. Only use extra lighting when it is needed. Other than that, the Christmas tree lights should be sufficient for indoors.
- Put the Lights on a Timer: Throughout the year we have been letting our followers know about home automation services. The same applies to holiday decorations too. Who burns Christmas lights all night? Not this guy! Take away the stress of getting home in time to turn on lights or having to turn off lights before going to bed. Who really know when the time is right anyway – on at 6pm or off at midnight? By placing your decorations on a timer, you can control when the holiday spirit is on at your home. This can save you money.
Now you know how to handle the decorations. Let’s take a look at how you can save on energy usage in the kitchen during the holidays. If your house is the main attraction for guests, follow these holiday energy savings tips.
- Oven Usage: Who isn’t baking something sweet and tasty for Christmas? There is a coconut cake with my name on it. When baking goodies, try to bake a few items at the same time to cut down on how often you use the oven.
- Use Oven Alternatives: If you can bake the yeast rolls in the toaster oven, do it. Using the smaller appliances can help save a little. Pop it in the microwave if it’s a small item to cook.
- Unplug Appliances: The can opener doesn’t have to stay plugged in after you open the cranberry sauce. Unplug it! And while you’re at it, get the blinder and coffee maker. You can also unplug other items around the house such as computers, printers, DVD players, etc. Essentially you should aim to unplug any appliance that has a lit button or clock on it when you are not using that appliance. This is especially helpful if you are traveling this year and won’t be home.
We home you have a fun and safe holiday season. Remember, if you need electrical repair services, call McCauley Electric at (678) 324-3117 for a FREE QUOTE!