It’s no secret that your electric bill has a habit of creeping up during the holiday season. Chances are whether you’re inviting friends over for festive gatherings or have a child coming home from school, you’ll be using a little more of everything—more light, more heat, even more showers and dishwasher loads. The best solution is to invest in energy-efficient appliances and electronics throughout your home, but we understand that’s a long-term endeavor that takes time…And your guests are arriving yesterday.
Here are a few quick and easy ways that you can mitigate those costs and turn your holidays into a season of savings:
Go LED
We can’t stress the benefits of LED lighting enough! Not only do LED lights last longer and shine brighter, but they cost significantly less to operate than traditional lights. So even if you’re determined to go all out on your front lawn holiday lighting display—including and especially the inflatable Santa and Mrs. Claus—make sure to choose the LED options. It’ll save you a bundle on your electric bill.
Turn Down The Heat
With all those people crammed into one small space like your home, the temperature is sure to rise. We’ve all been at those stuffy and overheated holiday parties, and no one likes those, so stop overheating in its tracks and save money by turning the thermostat down low, low, low when you’re about to have a bunch of guests over. Double points if they’re staying the night at your home. That’s a lot of body heat all in one insulated space, so why do double duty? Turn down the heat instead.
Cook Together
Did you know that you can save a significant amount of time and money by planning to cook your big meals and special holiday treats all at once? Get the whole family together and organize who’s cooking or baking which things when and do it all in one or two days. That way you’re only running all those ovens and appliances once or twice, instead of dozens of times throughout the holiday season. Plus, if you plan carefully, you can put multiple dishes in the oven at the same time!
Keep Lights On Timers
Let’s be real here. Do you really need to leave all the holiday lights on at 4 AM? Stack up some serious savings by only running your light display for the first few hours of the evening, and then setting them to automatically switch off during the hours when no one will see them anyway. Midnight is usually a good time, but some people opt for much earlier. Either way, you avoid running up your electric bill showing off your light displays to all the nocturnal woodland creatures between 12-6 AM.
Ready to keep those costs down this winter and invest in some energy-saving technology? We can help. Our expert techs will be able to evaluate your situation and recommend the best service, equipment, or installation for your needs, whether that’s an upgrade to your electrical panel or a series of LED lighting solutions. No matter what your energy habits are, or how many guests you want to host in that tiny living room, Colvin Electric can help you prepare electrically. If you’re ready to get started, give us a call today!