Follow These Holiday Energy-Saving Tips, and Celebrate When the Utility Bills Arrive

It may not feel like it just yet, but the holiday season–and all the accompanying family functions and holiday entertaining–isn’t that far off. And while this is most certainly a special time of year, the increased energy usage associated with everything from holiday lighting to preparing an array of special meals can really spike those energy bills. 

Let’s take a look at some holiday energy-saving tips that can help to keep your spirits up once those holiday utility bills start to roll in.

Holiday Lighting Tips

• Use energy-efficient bulbs: If you use large bulbs, switch to the 5-watt variety, which uses 30 percent less energy than traditional 10-watt bulb types.
• Try miniature bulbs: These use 70 percent less energy and last longer than larger bulbs.
• Use automatic timers: These help limit usage to a set time and reduce energy costs.

Heating Tips

• Continue your regimen of checking and changing the air filter in your furnace: Although your HVAC technician did this at the beginning of the heating season, keep checking and changing it as soon as it looks dirty. A dirty air filter can significantly undermine your furnace efficiency and cause your heating bills to rise dramatically. If you haven’t scheduled your fall furnace tune-up yet, do it now.
• Lower your water heater temperature: Setting your hot water heater at a comfortable 120 degrees can reduce power usage by up to 10 percent.
• Lower that thermostat: For every 1 degree you lower your thermostat when the furnace is on, you can shave up to 3 percent off your heating bill.

Cooking Tips:

• Don’t always preheat: Big items such as turkeys and hams need to cook for hours. Because so much cooking time is involved, you can just stick them in the oven without preheating.
• Keep your oven door closed: Check the progress of your foods in the oven by looking through the viewing window. Open the door only when the foods are close to ready.
• Lower the oven temperature: If you’re using glass or ceramic containers, lower the temperature by 25 degrees. Your food will cook just as quickly.

By applying these and other holiday energy-saving tips, you can reap significant savings on utility expenses. And for more ways to save, contact the energy experts at CCAC. We’ve been serving the Corpus Christi area since 1979.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Corpus Christi, Texas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about energy-saving and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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