The calendar says it’s well into fall, and that means the holiday season is right around the corner. With the approach of winter, the seasonal decorations and the holiday meals, the energy usage of your Yuma area home likely will increase, but you can minimize the expense with some of these tips to increase your holiday-season energy savings:
Home decorations:
- Holiday lighting can consume large amounts of electricity. Consider replacing some of your older light strands with energy-efficient LED (light-emitting diode) versions that use as little as 10 percent of the electricity. These lights are also more resilient to the elements, last longer, and are less of a fire hazard because they operate much cooler.
- Use timers to control your holiday lights, and set them to run for only a few hours after dark. This saves energy and eliminates the possibility that they may be accidentally left on.
Family meals:
- Carefully plan your meals. If you are using your oven for a turkey or ham, fill the extra space with other items that require similar temperatures. Resist the urge to open the oven door to check on the food and use the oven’s window instead. Shut the oven off early and use the residual heat to finish cooking the food.
- Try to use other appliances, like the microwave or slow cooker, for side dishes when feasible. They typically use less energy than other cooking methods when used correctly.
- A full refrigerator is easier to cool, so keep it stocked up.
- Avoid using the dishwasher for anything less than a full load, and use the most efficient cycles for washing and drying.
Heating:
- Have a professional do a seasonal tune-up on your HVAC system and eliminate any other issues that make the system work harder than it needs to.
- Clean or replace your HVAC air filter on a regular basis.
- Use a programmable thermostat to more efficiently regulate your home’s temperature during different times of the day.
To learn about many more ways to increase your holiday-season energy savings, please contact our experts at Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Co. We are family-owned and been serving the Yuma area since 1952.
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Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona 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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