8 Excellent Energy Saving Tips for Christmas | Glaze & Save
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…and the most expensive! Christmas is definitely the season for festive fun and family frolics, but with the cost of presents, parties, minces pies and mistletoe it would be nice to save a few pennies over the season. That’s why we’re bringing to you our eight excellent energy saving tips for Christmas, combed from across the internet, so you can roast your chestnuts by the fire without worrying that your Christmas bonus is going up in smoke.
1. Get Gadget Wise
The number of devices in our homes has grown exponentially in recent years, and there’s no day quite so gadget-crazy as Christmas day! Don’t stand for the standby option, which continues to use energy; switch appliances off at the wall and unplug completely if possible. You’ll save a ton! Top tip for techies? Use tablets on the big day over laptops, they use 70% less power !
2. Light Up with LEDs
Trade in your old incandescent Christmas lights for LEDs and brighten your tree while using 90% less energy! The Energy Saving Trust says that is we all swapped a string of incandesant lights for LEDs we could collectively save £13 million during the 12 days of Christmas alone. That’s over £1.1 million per day! Replacing all standard bulbs and halogen spotlights in your home with energy saving light bulbs could save you £35 a year.
3. Say Goodbye to Standby
While we’re talking about standby, did you know that turning your gadgets and appliances off instead of using standby mode could save you £30 per year? According to the Energy Saving Trust “more than three quarters (78 per cent) of us admit to regularly leaving at least two devices on standby. An advanced set-top box left on standby for 20 hours a day could cost around £20 a year alone just in standby mode”.
4. Festive Fibre Optics
Fibre optic trees and decorations can be a real energy saving solution for your festive décor. Fibre optic decorations tend to utilise a single bulb to light the whole decoration, which saves bags of cash on traditional Christmas lights and decorations.
5. Tree-t Yourself
Get the full benefit of your Christmas tree and enjoy that extra special festival glow by waiting until its dark before turning on your Christmas tree lights, and any other Christmas lights you may have. You absolutely do not want to leave them running 24/7: not only will it cost a fortune and waste loads of energy, but it can also be a fire hazard. If you are likely to forget to turn your lights on and off then get a timer, set it and forget it.
6. It’s Getting Hot in Here
Extra bodies mean extra hea t , so when the gang arrives for Christmas dinner be sure to turn the thermostat down to keep everyone comfortable while saving some pennies.
7. Candles for Christmas
Go old school with your Christmas décor, and save on energy to boot by using candles to create some fantastical festive lighting. Just be fire safe! Even better, use LED candles for a flickering festive finish without the fire hazard.
8. Be a Clever Cook
After the presents and the decorations, the next big thing on the Christmas hit list is the food! And with all of oven-time needed for Christmas dinner, it’s worth looking into energy saving options. Improvements Catalogrecommends utilising your microwave for small tasks like melting chocolate, while keeping you oven reserved for bigger items like cooking the turkey. Save time and energy by keeping the pots on your lids, which will cook your Christmas dinner in record time.
