Decking the halls shouldn’t drive your energy bill sky-high. As homeowners in Shakopee, MN get ready for the holiday season, many are also looking for ways to cut their electricity use and limit their spending. Fortunately, seasonal celebrations and energy efficiency can go hand in hand. The following are eight ways to reduce energy consumption while joining the festivities.
1. Opt for LED Light Displays
Compared to traditional incandescent bulbs, LED lights use up to 90% electricity. According to the United States Department of Energy (DOE), homeowners who use LED lights throughout their homes can save up to $225 annually on their energy bills. These are efficiency gains that you can apply to your holiday decorating scheme. LED Christmas lights are just as bright and vibrant as their alternatives. Most indoor and outdoor string lights are as much as 75% more efficient.
LED lights also produce far less heat than standard string lights. Making this switch means having a lower risk of electrical fires and an easier time regulating temperatures in your home.
2. Connect Your Holiday Lights to a Timer
Holiday lights are major contributors to wintertime energy bill increases. This is especially true when homeowners keep their displays lit up when no one is awake or present to enjoy them. With a Christmas light timer, you won’t have to remember to shut your displays off before falling asleep. In fact, you won’t even have to be at home. Not only is using timers better for your energy bill than manually controlling your holiday lighting, but it’s also safer. Light timers eliminate the risk of having fires break out while everyone is away or in bed.
3. Consider Smart Lights
Smart lights are an easy and integrative alternative to light timers. Spending a bit more to get smart Christmas lights will give you the benefit of remote monitoring and control. You can integrate smart lights with your other smart home features and can turn them on, up, or off from any location by using a branded mobile app and an internet-connected device.
Choose Smart Lights for All Your Indoor and Outdoor Lighting
Once you’ve experienced the unmatched convenience and efficiency of smart holiday lights, you may be tempted to opt for smart lighting both indoors and out year-round. Making this upgrade in winter is a great way to offset the costs incurred by constantly running your heater, installing electricity-reliant holiday decor, and using other major home appliances.
4. Unplug Your Countertop Appliances and Other Energy Vampires
Winter is the perfect time to do something about all of the energy vampires in your home. These are appliances that are constantly drawing electricity while in standby mode. During the holiday season, most countertops are littered with vampiric appliances. For instance, if you have family visiting or kids home from school, you might have your slow cooker, electric griddle, air fryer, and several coffee makers set up.
When you aren’t using small countertop appliances, unplug them. You can also avoid a tangled mess of cords by plugging these into smart plugs that you can control remotely or by using power strips that allow you to shut off all connected devices at once.
5. Invest in Essential Electrical System Upgrades
Residential electrical systems should be upgraded once every 20 to 25 years. This schedule accounts for the constant increases in devices, gadgets, and appliances that are considered essential. It also accounts for general wear and innovations in panel designs and materials.
The holidays are an excellent time to make this all-important home improvement. Before you string up indoor and outdoor lights or set up decorative inflatables, you can invest in a modern, higher amperage panel that can capably handle higher capacities. This will promote even and efficient energy distribution and less electricity waste.
As with other efficiency improvements, an electrical panel upgrade will also enhance the safety of your holiday lighting by limiting the risk of overheating, short circuits, and electrical fires. The holiday season is also a good time to take care of malfunctioning outlets, faulty circuit breakers, and flickering lights.
6. Install Surge Protection
Whole-house surge protection protects lights, wiring, outlets, appliances, and devices from the damages caused by power surges. While this doesn’t directly save homeowners money on their energy bills, it does prevent electrical malfunction in major home appliances and frequently used devices. Surge protection can be a powerful tool in keeping your entire electrical system working properly and efficiently.
7. Curb Your HVAC-Related Energy Use
According to the DOE, nearly 50% of the average home energy bill can be attributed to HVAC system use. This is especially true during the summer and winter months when the outside temperature is at its highest and lowest. Thus, one of the best ways to reduce your spending on energy is by priming your HVAC system for efficiency and using it smartly.
You can start by scheduling a furnace or heat pump tune-up before winter arrives. You should also weatherize your home by:
- Installing weatherstripping
- Using caulk to seal up air leaks in building materials
- Adding to or upgrading your home’s insulation
- Replacing old, leaky windows and doors
There are also several improvements that you can make to your HVAC system without actually replacing your furnace. These include sealing and insulating your HVAC air ducts, having your central HVAC system zoned, and installing a smart or programmable thermostat.
As per the DOE, you can cut your HVAC-related energy use by as much as 10% by lowering your thermostat setting by 7 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit before going to work or bed. According to ENERGY STAR, upgrading to a smart or programmable thermostat can cut HVAC-related energy use by as much as 8%. Smart and programmable thermostats take the guesswork out of timed temperature changes and eliminate the potential for human error. When done properly, HVAC zoning can reduce HVAC-related energy use by as much as 35%.
8. Keep Your Major Appliances Well-Maintained
Take good care of your major home appliances. Throughout the holidays, you’ll probably have more people in your home cooking, bathing, washing and drying clothes, and using your entertainment system.
In addition to scheduling an HVAC tune-up, catch up on water heater maintenance, dryer vent cleaning, and general appliance maintenance. If your refrigerator has a tight, functional seal, it will use less energy to keep your food cool. When your dryer can effectively vent hot, humid air outdoors, it will add less moisture and heat to the building interior and require less time to complete a load. Before your holiday guests arrive, take out all of your appliance manuals and warranties and make sure that you’re caught up on all recommended or required maintenance tasks.
For your entertainment system, try calibrating your sound and display systems to improve picture and audio quality. Clean up the cords in your entertainment area and check for energy vampires. Protect gaming consoles, DVD players, smart TVs, and more by using properly rated surge protector cords with smart controls or timed turn-offs.
Contact Us Today
We proudly serve Shakopee and the surrounding communities with outstanding electrical services. We offer electrical installations and repairs, EV home charger installation, electrical panel upgrades, and lighting upgrades. We also work with knob and tube wiring. To learn more ways to save energy during the holiday season or schedule an appointment for an electrical upgrade, get in touch with Finch Home Solutions now.
