Tis the Season to Save Energy

Save as you Decorate

• Opt for decorations that do not require energy consumption such as ornaments, ribbons and wreaths.
• Invest in light-emitting diode (LED) decorative lights.  Compared to conventional, incandescent lights, they typically use 90 per cent less electricity and last some 200,000 hours.  
• Use a timer for your exterior holiday lights. Setting the timer to turn the lights on after 8 p.m. and off at midnight can reduce your lighting costs by 30 to 50 per cent. By waiting until 8 p.m. to turn on all your Christmas lights, you’ll also avoid the electricity rush hour (4 p.m. to 8 p.m.) and thus minimize the load on the electrical system.

Save in the Kitchen

• Keep the refrigerator and oven doors closed as much as possible. Every time you open the oven door to check the turkey, you lower the temperature by as much as 14 degrees Celsius.
• Use the microwave to heat leftovers. It uses about one-third the energy of a conventional oven.
• Don’t put a six-inch pot on an eight-inch stove element; 40 per cent of the heat will be wasted.
• Use the “air dry” setting on your dishwasher and cut its energy use by about 10 per cent.

Save Around the Home

• Seal air leaks and insulate. The small cracks and holes in a home can add up to an opening that is big enough for Santa to crawl through.  Check walls, windows and doors for drafts and seal them with weather stripping and caulking.  
• While using the fireplace, reduce heat loss by opening dampers or the nearest window (only about an inch), closing the door to the room, and turning down the thermostat.
• Turn the heat down a few degrees before your guests arrive. Everyone’s extra body heat will make up the difference.
• Pull on your parka and join carolers outside instead of letting all your precious heat escape through an open front door.
• Make a New Year’s resolution that’s good for your wallet and the environment and get started on those energy-efficient home improvements you’ve been putting off.

Save While Out and About

• Combine your shopping trips to reduce the number of times you go out.  
• Reduce idling time while warming up your car, running into a store or waiting to pick someone up.  Idling does nothing to warm up your vehicle's transmission, tires, suspension or steering, and results in poor fuel efficiency.  A much better way to warm up your vehicle is to drive it slowly.
• Use an external timer to warm up the block heater in your or guests’ cars for no more than a couple of hours.