Christmas – a time of joy, festivities… and high energy bills. With the days being colder and darker, everyone is tempted to crank up the heating and turn all the lights on to feel cosy and comfortable in their home, add to that the lights decorating your tree and house and the cooking of Christmas dinner, and you’ve got yourself a pretty hefty energy bill.
This isn’t ideal for anyone, being the most expensive month of the year for many, let alone when we’re in a cost of living crisis. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get to enjoy the festivities any less. Here are our top tips on saving energy this Christmas.
Christmas Lights
Whether you prefer cool, warm or multicoloured, everyone likes to decorate their home and Christmas tree with lights – they are the perfect way to create a cosy and magical atmosphere.
As aesthetically pleasing as they are, though, having so many lights on all the time eats into your energy bill, quite a lot when you have them on every day. To reduce the energy usage, consider plugging your outside lights into a timer; this way, you can programme them to turn on when it begins to get dark, which is when they can be most appreciated, rather than running all day long.
As for any inside lights, remember to turn these off at night and anytime you leave the house. You won’t be appreciating them during these times anyway, so there is no need for them to be on! Doing these things still allow you to enjoy them while being conscious of your energy usage at the same time.
Christmas Cooking
Ahh, Christmas dinner… hearty and filling, but extortionate to cook. No, really – cooking a traditional Christmas dinner can equate to a week’s worth of energy usage, making for one expensive energy bill at the end of the month.
To reduce this, consider other appliances that could be used to cook your dinner that are more energy efficient. For example, although it takes longer, a slow cooker is able to cook meat using far less energy than an oven – depending on what time you typically eat your christmas dinner, this could be a case of putting it on to cook in the morning or even doing it the night before and reheating it.
Air fryers and microwaves are also great substitutes for the oven and hob without racking up your energy bill. Try roasting your potatoes in an air fryer and steaming your veg in the microwave – they taste just as good and save you money!
If you do use the oven, try to cook as much as you can at the same time, and remember to turn it off before serving, as it will still retain heat and keep your food hot.
Eco Heating
Many people will have family over at Christmas to enjoy the day together, so it’s natural to want to keep your guests warm and comfortable by kicking up the heating a notch.
Yet, this can be costly if you have an inefficient heating system. Choosing to install an eco storage heater saves you money on your electricity bills by taking advantage of cheaper, off-peak tariffs through automatic usage during off-peak hours. They are also more efficient as all the electricity used to power them is turned into heat energy, meaning no heat is wasted.
As part of the government’s ECO4 scheme, you may be eligible for eco heating grants, so you could get your eco storage heater installed for free by UK Energy Management. Contact us today to check your eligibility and learn more about the services we offer.
