Holidays are a magical time: time for entertaining, decorating and gift giving; catching up with family and friends. Also it’s a time for spending money– for most of us, a lot of money. One way to cut back on holiday expenses is to be more mindful of your energy use. By implementing some of the simple measures listed below, you can save big on this year’s holiday energy use.
Savings in the Kitchen
- Plan to cook multiple dishes at one time. This way you will only heat the oven once for maximum efficiency.
- Try to use a microwave instead of the oven when possible. Microwaves and other small appliances use less energy than your oven.
- Only preheat your oven for baking. Preheating is not necessary when re-heating casseroles and other dishes.
- Consider deep frying or grilling meats instead of baking. Cooking time is faster than baking and will save on holiday energy use.
- Convection hot plates may be an option for your next holiday meal. Convection heat is more efficient, faster and will keep your food at a constant temperature. If you are serving a buffet style meal, convection hot plates are the way to go.
- Turn down the thermostat while baking. Let oven heat warm your home while in use.
- Keep lids on pots while cooking on stove burners. The food will cook faster, using less energy.
Decorating Savings
- Candles offer a warm glow and special ambiance to rooms and walkways without using any fossil fuels at all.
- Replace your old lights with new, energy-saving LED lights. LED lights save a whopping 90 percent less energy than their traditional counterparts.
- Fiber optic trees use only a single bulb to maximize energy savings and require very little maintenance.
Give the Gift of Energy Savings
- Forty percent of annual battery sales are during the holiday season. Choose gifts that don’t rely on battery or electric power.
- Lower the thermostat when out of town.
For more useful tips about holiday energy use and other home comfort needs contact us at Arpi’s Industries LTD. We have proudly served Western Canada for 50 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Calgary, Alberta about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about energy savings and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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