While we’re all excited about the festive season, this year feels a bit different and that’s because energy is at the forefront of most British households this year. Let’s look at ten ways you can keep the Christmas cheer alive while reducing energy usage and saving more to spend on Christmas stocking fillers.
1. LED fairy lights
There’s no two ways about it, LED lighting is far more efficient than traditional forms of lighting and investing in LED decorative lights for your home and tree is a no brainer. LED lights use less energy and also last much longer than traditional lights.
2. Use timers for your lights
To avoid unnecessary usage, we really recommend using plug in timers with your decorative lights so that they come alive when it matters most and not when everyone’s asleep. For maximum energy savings while still keeping your home festive, you could schedule it to come on when you’re due to come home from work and off again around bedtime.
3. Standby bye bye
Who doesn’t love a Christmas movie marathon at this time of year? You’d be surprised at how much energy game consoles and TVs can still use when they are on standby mode. We recommend turning these appliances off at the switch after a cozy movie night in. Or even better, why not try a board game this year?
4. Watch your pots and pans
Cooking Christmas dinner? Keeping lids on pans while cooking means food will cook faster and uses 10% less energy. Pick the right size pan, the larger the pan, the more energy is required to heat it so ensure you’re not wasting energy by picking the wrong sized pan.
5. Embrace the microwave & air fryer
It may not be as quintessentially festive as an oven roast but don’t hesitate to include the microwave and air fryer in your cooking where appropriate like melting chocolate as they use far less energy and work much faster than the oven.
6. Layer up
Make the most of your Christmas jumpers and fuzzy socks this year, dressing warmer can mean turning down your thermostat by a few degrees which can add up significant savings over time.
7. Turn down the heat
When you’re cooking, you’re generating a lot of heat in the house which is a great time to turn down your thermostat by a couple of degrees and save some energy.
8. Check that chimney
You’ll need to make sure your chimney is Santa ready of course but sealing your chimney with a draught excluder can reduce energy usage in your home.
9. Decorate without lights
Pay Pinterest a visit and you’ll see thousands of creative ways to decorate your home without energy – think pine cones, garlands, dried orange slices, cinnamon sticks and star anise. Not only do they use no energy, they also smell divine!
10. Use your fireplace
If you’re lucky enough to have a fireplace, use it! In addition to creating a beautiful ambiance for the festive season, it’s a convenient way to add warmth to your home. Conserve heat by closing doors for rooms that you’re not using.
