The holiday season will be here before you know it. And with it will come, family and friends, who are ready to celebrate, which means some added expenses for food, gifts, and more. So finding little ways to reduce your household bills can be a real lifesaver. And one of the best places to start that savings is with your home’s electrical bill.
Don’t worry. We will not offer you some crazy ideas about turning off all the lights in the evening and wandering around by candlelight. That is unless you think that your family and friends will appreciate that added boost of ambiance. We are offering real tips on how to save energy during the holiday season and year-round. After all, who would not want to save money each month on their electric bill?
Keep Your Appliances At Peek Energy-Efficiency
With a house full of guests, you are likely to be facing a lot more dirty dishes. But don’t think that means you need to miss hours of fun standing at the sink washing dishes by hand. Instead, put your dishwasher to good use. But be sure to load as efficiently as possible and only run it when it is completely full.
And another important note, forget the pre-rinse cycle. Even if the dishes have been sitting over-night in the dishwasher, just run your normal cycle when it is full. The enzymes in modern detergent work better when combined with the bits of food on dirty dishes. So a pre-rinse will waste water and lower the cleaning capability of your detergent. This step will shorten the run-time of your dishwasher and save about 6,000 gallons of water per year!
Also, you can forget about the drying cycle on your dishwasher. If you are washing with hot water, open the door when the wash cycle is completed. The steam will roll out, and your dishes will quickly air dry. And you will complete the process for a fraction of the cost of a complete wash and dry cycle.
With the family home for the holidays, you will also be facing an extra-large mountain of dirty laundry. Again, be sure only to wash full loads. And remove the laundry as soon as the wash cycle is completed, to eliminate wrinkles and added wear to the fabric. Then dry to almost dry but never over dry. You will reduce the electricity being used to operate your dryer and help extend your clothing’s life.
Have The Kids Help Out Too
In this case, we are not talking about holiday chores, just energy conservation. Kids use a myriad of items that require a recharge from time to time. So make sure that as soon as the electronic is recharged, it is removed from the charger. Also, remind them to unplug the charger as it will keep consuming electricity, even when it has no real function.
A great way to monitor charging stations is to plug all chargers into a power strip. Then you can turn off the power strip to know that all of the electricity sucking chargers have been put to rest. These power strips are also great for larger items like the television and video game systems. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 75% of home electronics energy consumption occurs when the devices are not even in use.
Three Is A Crowd
Well, in most cases, you will have more than three people crowding into your home this holiday season. And with all of that fun and celebration, there will be added heat generated. Don’t forget that a house full of guests gets warm very quickly. Plan for this free heat and set your thermostat back slightly rather than waiting until everyone is too hot and opening a window. Cutting the heat back just two degrees can reduce your heating cost by about 5%.
One of the best ways to reduce your home’s energy consumption is with an electrical audit from the licensed electricians at Circuit Doctors. Call us at (703) 463-9866 for an appointment and let us help you discover new and exciting ways to reduce your energy use and energy bill.
