Holiday energy-saving tips

Get festive and frugal

Lighting

  • Replace old holiday lights with LED light strings. LEDs use a fraction of the energy of incandescent holiday lights and last up to 20 years.
  • Plug indoor and outdoor lighting displays into timers or smart plugs/switches set for evening hours.
  • Unplug or turn off lights when sleeping or leaving home if not using timers.
  • Enhance existing lighting with tinsel, mirrored ornaments and other reflective items rather than adding more lights.
  • Use LED fixtures and bulbs for outdoor floodlights for an efficient, color changing and festive look.
  • Use our holiday lighting calculator to estimate your energy costs.

Entertaining

  • Cook as many dishes as possible in microwave, slow cooker, air fryer or toaster oven. They cook food quicker and are smaller, using as much as 75% less energy than a conventional oven.
  • Check cooking progress by looking through an oven window. Opening door for even a few seconds reduces oven temperature by as much as 25 degrees. No window? Don’t open door until close to expected finish time.
  • Turn off oven several minutes before food is fully cooked. With door closed, heat is enough to finish cooking.
  • Try turning oven temperature down 25 degrees if using glass or ceramic pans. Food may cook just as quickly.
  • Match pan size to stove heating element. More heat gets to pan and less to air.
  • Keep refrigerator and freezer well stocked. A full refrigerator or freezer saves energy by maintaining more consistent temperature.

Heating

  • Set thermostat between 66 degrees F and 68 F, a comfortable range for most people in colder months. Every 1 degree lower on thermostat may reduce your energy use by 1%-3%.
  • Program thermostat to decrease temperature 8 degrees when away from home and overnight.
  • Start heating season with a new furnace filter, and clean or replace it monthly to keep the furnace running efficiently.
  • Open curtains during daytime to allow sunlight to heat home and close curtains overnight to reduce chill from windows. Consider adding thermal curtains to reduce each room’s energy loss by up to 25%.
  • Set water heater to 120 F to cut water heating costs by 10%.
  • Install snug-fitting glass doors and slightly open a nearby window if using an open-hearth fireplace. This reduces amount of heated air drawn into fireplace and improves efficiency up to 20%.

Safety

  • Check for damaged sockets, plugs and cords before hanging lights and replace anything that looks defective.
  • Be certain any outdoor lighting is marked for outdoor use.
  • Stay well away from power lines if using a ladder when decorating or lighting outside.
  • Fasten outdoor lights securely to protect them from wind damage. Use only insulated staples or plastic attachments to hold strings in place, not nails or tacks.
  • Never plug in more than three sets of lights to one extension cord to avoid overloading electrical circuits.
  • Do not use light-duty flat extension cords, often brown or white, to power lights. Instead, use heavy-gauge UL- or FM-labeled round extension cords.
  • Never run electrical cords under rugs or carpeting.
  • Turn off electrical decorations before leaving home or going to bed.
  • Do not let small children play with light strings.