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Don’t Dread the Post-Christmas Electric Bill

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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 six 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.


 

Posted: 12/22/2021 4:48:14 PM
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