The holiday season is just around the corner and soon, festive music will flood the airwaves, sparkling lights and decorations will adorn homes and businesses, and good tidings will abound. The holidays also bring a frenzy of decorating, cooking, and family gatherings. Now is a good time to take a look at a few programs and efficiency tips to help lower your monthly energy usage.
Programs To Help You Save
Amid the hectic hustle and bustle of holiday cheer, it is easy to lose track of energy usage which results in higher-than-usual energy bills. CVEC offers account text notifications to remind members of due dates, receive payment confirmations, and receive alerts for spikes in energy usage. Sign up today to receive one or all of these account reminders and alerts. You can choose to receive each by text or email or both. To sign up, log into your account portal. If you elect to receive your alerts and reminders by text, you will still need to opt-in by phone for activation.
Our team of member service representatives is available to help, so I encourage you to give us a call at 800-367-2832 if you’d like to learn about specific programs and services that can lower your bills.
Small Steps to Savings
Winter months typically bring some of the highest energy bills of the year. Making minor, low-cost improvements, like weatherstripping exterior doors and caulking around old, drafty windows can make a positive impact on energy bills. If you’re not sure where to start, visit the “Save Energy & Money” page.
Be Festive Without Breaking the Bank
Whether you’ve already decked your halls or you’re just getting started, there’s still time to incorporate energy savings into your holiday décor planning. Before you spend hours untangling those old lights, consider switching to LEDs to save energy.
LED holiday lights use 88% less energy than incandescent holiday lights. To put that into perspective, the Department of Energy estimates that with standard holiday decorations, LED lights typically increase energy bills by about $5 to $7. But with incandescent lights, energy bills will typically increase by $33 or more. For homes that go above and beyond with incandescent holiday lighting (think Clark Griswold), energy bills could increase by as much as $350. Beyond energy savings, LEDs provide additional benefits, such as being shock-resistant, shatterproof, and cool to the touch, making them safer for the home.
If you missed Santa’s memo about energy-saving LEDs and your holiday lights are already up, you can still save on lighting costs. All you need is a programmable light timer. Most models cost between $10 to $25 and can be purchased through online retailers like Amazon or at big box stores like Lowe’s or Wal-Mart. With a light timer, you can easily program when you want your holiday lights turned on and off, which will save you time, money and energy. If you’re using a timer for exterior lighting, make sure it’s weatherproof and intended for outdoor use.
If Clark Griswold’s décor style is a bit much for your taste, consider a more natural approach. Many Christmas tree farms, and even retailers like Lowe’s and Home Depot, give away greenery clippings from recently trimmed trees. With a little twine, extra ornaments, and sparkly ribbon, you can create beautiful garlands and wreaths to hang over your front door or windows. To add extra twinkle at night, you can install solar-powered spotlights to illuminate your new (essentially free!) greenery. Solar spotlights can vary in price, but you should be able to purchase a quality set of 4 for about $30––and because they run on natural energy from the sun, there’s no additional cost to your energy bill.
Additional easy ways to save during the holiday season include turning off overhead lights and using your Christmas tree to illuminate your home. If you have a fireplace, remember to close the flue when you’re not burning a fire to ensure heat doesn’t escape through the chimney.
Cook Up Energy Savings In The Kitchen
If you plan to have family and friends over this holiday season, you can cook up energy savings by using small countertop appliances like microwaves, air fryers, and slow cookers when possible, as they use much less energy than the stovetop or oven.
When using the oven, bake multiple dishes at once for maximum efficiency. After all, it takes as much energy to cook one dish as it does to cook several. Turn the oven off a few minutes before the recipe’s end time and allow the residual heat to finish baking the dish. Once the food is done, leave the stove door ajar to allow the residual heat to warm the room. When using the stovetop, match the pan size to the burner to maximize the stove top’s efficiency.
We hope these tips will be helpful to our members as we approach the holiday season. Remember, we’re here to answer any questions you have about managing energy use or your monthly bills. With a little planning upfront, you can find efficient ways to save on everything from holiday décor to your favorite soup recipes.
From your friends at Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season.