3 Ways To Reduce Energy Bills This Holiday Season

The holiday season is finally here, and most people generally see higher energy bills due to holiday lights and increased heating system usage.

We’ve put together a few tips to help you reduce your energy consumption this winter, specifically relating to holiday energy spending.

3 ways to reduce your energy bills this holiday season include:

We’ll walk through each of these tips below, to give you a better idea of exactly how you can save money on your energy bills this winter!

Note: While your energy bills may be a little higher during the holiday season, if your electricity bill is significantly higher, there may be an issue with your heating system or your ductwork. If you think this may be the case, reach out to us! We’d be happy to take a look at your system and help determine what the root issue is.

Most homeowners turn their holiday lights on when the sun is setting and leave them up while it’s dark out. However, this requires you to remember to turn your lights off before you head to bed or leave your lights on all night, which can suck up a lot of energy during a time where little to no one will be enjoying your festive decorations.

Our energy-saving tip here is to simply put your holiday lights on a timer. Light timers can be found at practically any general merchandise store, like Walmart or Target, and are very simple to use. Just plug your lights into the timer, set the length of time you want the lights on for and the timer will do the rest.

This is an easy way to enjoy your holiday lights without wasting energy by accidentally leaving them on throughout the night (and potentially next day).

Another way to say money on your energy bills this season is to invest in some LED lights. According to the Washington Post, An average string of 25 incandescent C9 bulbs uses about 175 watts of energy per season (if they’re on 12 hours a day for 45 days). A string of LED C9 bulbs only uses 2.4 watts.

When you tally up the number of strings of light you use on your tree, decorating the front of your home, and any other holiday light decorations, that total wattage number can start to add up.

So, while it may seem counterintuitive to buy more lights in order to spend less, in the long run, LED lights will end up saving a significant amount of energy.

Extra Tip: If you don’t want to purchase LED lights this season, you can wait until the holiday season is over and buy them on sale. This way you don’t end up spending a lot of money on lights but you have them ready for next season.

If you end up taking a vacation over the holidays, it’s best to unplug all holiday lights and turn off all indoor and outdoor lights while you’re gone. This will prevent you from expending unnecessary energy (and spending unnecessary money) on lighting while you’re not home.

You should also turn down your heating system 8-10 degrees while you’re away. This will prevent you from spending money heating your home while you’re gone, but it will also prevent your heating system from working overtime when you come back.

If you turn your system off completely, your system will have to heat your home from the outdoor temperature to whatever temperature you want the inside of your home to be. This can put a lot of strain on your heating system, which can increase your energy bills and potentially harm internal components of your system.

So, to save money on energy bills, your best option is to simply raise the temperature a few degrees while you’re away.

The best way to save money over the winter season is to invest in annual maintenance with a professional.

During a heat pump or furnace tune-up, a tech will assess all parts of your system and ensure that everything is working safely and efficiently. The more efficiently the internal components of your system are working, the more efficiently your entire system will run, which means lower utility bills for you.

Annual maintenance can also help catch small issues before they spiral into larger, more expensive ones and can keep your parts and labor warranty valid.

If you want to have your furnace or heat pump maintained by a team you can trust, check out our maintenance plan. Beyond excellent maintenance service, our plan comes with added perks like a 25% discount on repairs and 10% off new equipment.