During the holiday season, you’re most likely going to light up your house with Christmas lights and beautiful Christmas decorations. Here are some Christmas energy saving tips that we put together to try and help you keep your electric bill down during the holiday season.
Christmas Energy Saving Tip #1: Use Candles
When you 
are trying to come up with some beautiful lighting ideas, consider using candles. Lighting candles uses no energy and will provide some fantastic mood lighting. For safety purposes, you might want to use battery-operated candles that are available in a variety of different colors and styles.
You can get rechargeable tea lights and even some remote control candles – now that’s convenient! Some battery-operated candles will even flicker so you’ll still achieve the non-electric mood lighting that is created by candles, but without the fire hazard.
Christmas Energy Saving Tip #2: Use LED Christmas Lights
You may already have a large collection of Christmas lights from years past,but, if you’re ready for a change, donate them and get some LED lights. LEDlights use 90% less electricity than typical, incandescent Christmas lights and, although they cost a bit more than incandescent lights, the small price difference is quickly made up when you consider that LED lights last longer than incandescent lights.
LED lights are brighter and have a blue-ish tone, whereas incandescent lights have a warm, yellow glow.
Christmas Energy Saving Tip #4 : Use Natural cooking methods ; braai
W
hat better way to celebrate the festive holiday than a natural braai in the backyard or on the balcony .
South Africans love to braai, And braai season has officially started as the year draws to a close with many more gatherings under the sun.
This helps in saving a great deal of electricity.
Christmas Energy Saving Tip #5: Be Energy-Smart When Cooking & Baking
If you plan on doing some holiday cooking or baking, be smart. Consider using the microwave or toaster oven for smaller tasks such as melting chocolate for dipping, and keep the oven reserved for larger items, such as cooking a turkey. While cooking on the stove, keep the lids on your pots so your food will cook in less time.
Christmas Energy Saving Tip #6: Unplug Phantom Energy Users Before You Go On Vacation
TVs, DVD players, computers, printers, radios and many other electronics use energy even when they aren’t turned on. Unplug these items before you go on vacation, and enjoy the energy savings.
Christmas Energy Saving Tip #7: Track your electricity usage
Track and control how much you are spending on electricity by switching to a pay as you go electricity plan. Powertime helps you keep track of your usage and gives notifications as warning when your power is running low by making use of the Powerstream Reports. Speak to Powertime Bot the Powertime Energy Coach for more tips and a quick guide on smart domestic electricity use.
