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Washington, DC, November 17 – Fun yet practical energy-efficiency tips from the Alliance to Save Energy can help reduce holiday stress and home winter energy costs, so you can enjoy the festivities.
- Don’t let “Ole Man Winter” keep you from lounging around in that slinky new holiday nightgown and robe set. A well insulated house will keep you cozy – and lower your heating costs – even while you are lightly clad! Appropriate insulation for your climate can increase indoor comfort and reduce home heating costs by as much as 30 percent. More info at www.simplyinsulate.com.
- When you’re done waiting for Santa or cuddling with your honey in front of a roaring fire, don’t forget to close the chimney flue. Leaving it open is like punching a foot-square hole in the roof – and watching your money blow away.
- Too much “holiday cheer” at that party? Don’t worry – a programmable thermostat will “remember” for you to lower the heat when you leave the house empty to go to work or to the mall for a day of gift shopping, and to warm it up again shortly before you return.
- Be festive yet smart with holiday lighting:
- Consider using energy-saving, solid-state LED (Light Emitting Diode) holiday lights and strands that use about 99 percent less energy than larger, traditional incandescent holiday bulbs – and last up to 100,000 hours.
- Once you’ve lit the Chanukah menorah, use a dimmer switch to lower the lights. By the eighth night, you may not need any electric lights at all! And spin a dreidel – it uses no energy!
- Use timers to limit holiday light displays to no more than six evening hours a day to curb energy use and costs, and to avoid having to remember to turn them on and off every day. Leaving lights on 24 hours a day will quadruple your energy costs – and create four times the pollution.
- Lonely lights. Untended lights can cause fires, so for safety’s sake, always unplug your interior holiday lights before going to bed or leaving the house.
In the spirit of Kwanzaa – the African-American spiritual week of remembering, reassessing, recommitting, and rejoicing –reassess your power consumption, recommit to energy-efficient practices, and rejoice in the savings.
Pay the local kids to shovel your driveway. Better to give them some extra spending money than to use it towards the purchase of a smog-producing, gas-guzzling snow blower.
Decorate your home with “Energy Stars.” Appliances and electronics with the Energy Star label – the government’s symbol of energy efficiency – can cut related home energy bills in each category up to 30 percent. Use the savings to jump-start your children’s piggy bank accounts.
No roasting chestnuts over an open halogen torchiere! It can burn hot enough to cause a fire, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Instead, give yourself the gift of an energy-efficient Energy Star-labeled torchiere lamp, for a brighter, thriftier, safer holiday.
When you’re looking for that last stocking stuffer for the kids, remember there’s nothing wrong with gifts that are powered by the imagination, rather than by batteries or electricity.
Strap on those cross-country skies or roller blades or ride your bike to tour the neighborhood holiday decorations. It’s a great way to work off those extra holiday calories, and it’s much cheaper than filling up your family SUV.
Although frost on windows may be charming in holiday movies, it’s uncomfortable in your own home. Depending on your financial capabilities, either cover single-pane windows with plastic film to avoid drafts, install storm windows, or upgrade to energy-efficient windows with double panes and low-emissivity coatings to dramatically improve indoor comfort, add beauty to your home, and save money during the holiday season and beyond.
Unplug the video games and turn off the millionth broadcast of It’s A Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve – and read your favorite holiday story instead. Your children may appreciate your attention and time, and you will be saving energy in the process.
Instead of leaving your door open to carolers and losing all that precious heat, pull on your parka and join in the fun. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors, too!
Make a New Year’s resolution that’s good for your pocketbook and the environment. Get started on those energy-efficient home improvements you’ve been putting off for too long.
Then you can give your family the extra gift of your time – while energy-efficient products and technologies do the work for you – reducing home energy and water bills and needless air pollution and increasing comfort day after day.
Additional year-round, energy-efficiency tips and numerous resources can be found on the Alliance’s new consumer web site, www.ase.org/consumers. The Alliance’s informative consumer booklet, Power$mart: Easy Tips to Save Money and the Planet, is also available by calling 1-888-878-3256.
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The Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, economy, and national security.
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