It’s Christmas Time…..and there’s no need to waste energy. That’s right, in the middle of the Christmas period with all the stress and joys of food, shopping, festive fun and family; it is easy to forget about trying to save energy over the period.
With utility companies pushing up prices over the winter period, it is a good time to make sure you are not using more than you have to. Save on your utilities and you will save money, and who doesn’t need that!
Here are our top tips for areas to save energy this Christmas.
Christmas Lights
Many people enjoy festive lights but few people remember that they also use electricity. A well known price comparison site estimated that a display of 100 five watt bulbs switched on for six hours a day over the Christmas period will consume around 207 KwH of energy, which is roughly 22 days of the average households electricity consumption.
Don’t ruin your enjoyment of your lights, but be sensible. Only use them when you are actually going to benefit from them, like during darker hours, and when you are actually in the house. Maybe think about using a timer so that you don’t have to worry about forgetting to switch your lights off.
And when you have your Christmas lights on, why not switch off a few of the other lights in the room, that way you get even more of the benefit of your Christmas lights, but balance out your energy demands.
Finally, if you have older Christmas lights then they will be less efficient. You can get reasonably cheap LED Christmas lights these days that can use up to 90% less energy than traditional lights, and last longer!
Electrical Appliances
Christmas is a time of year where electrical appliances from TVs to games consoles get used all the time. Just make sure when you are finished with an appliance or gadget you switch it off, properly, rather than leaving it on standby. Don’t leave chargers permanently on.
Turn Your Thermostat Down A Degree or Two
This winter may be bitterly cold but you will be surprised at how quickly the house warms up with the Christmas cooking and having guests. Think about turning your thermostat down during these periods and you’ll soon see the benefits.
Managing your heating correctly over the festive period will really save you some money, especially on the cold days. If you have Thermostatic Radiator Valves then work out which rooms need to be heated and raise or lower the heat output of the radiator accordingly. Don’t waste money heating rooms that won’t be needed to the same temperature as the rest of the house.
Defrosting Food in the Fridge
Christmas is a period where a lot of things need to be defrosted before they can be cooked. Consider defrosting them in the fridge as this will help to supplement the temperature in the fridge and help to reduce the energy it needs to keep the fridge to a cold temperature. You’ll be saving money. Just make sure that you have thoroughly defrosted the product before cooking and that you don’t mix raw and cooked food in the fridge. Food hygiene and safety is always important!
Remember not to overfill your fridge. Unlike freezers, fridges work best when there is room for air to circulate. So if you cram your fridge full you’ll be making it work harder.
Cook Less
Christmas is a time of year that has a lot of wastage in terms of food and leftovers. Be realistic in the size of joints and amount of food that you will eat. This will save you throwing money away with lots of left over that never get eaten, after all there are only so many ways you can eat turkey for a week! It will also save you energy on the cooking times as the smaller amounts of food won’t take as long to cook.
Keep Your Freezer Full
Freezers work best when at least 75% full. Make sure you have defrosted and cleaned your freezer coming into the Christmas period and that it is nicely full. This reduces the load on the freezer and means it needs less energy to run efficiently.
Follow these tips and you might just reduce your energy bills over the festive period!
Merry Energy Saving Christmas……
