As Christmas approaches, the thrill of getting out the Christmas decorations and covering your house in lights can be both exciting and daunting. Lights and colourful decorations can make for some beautiful Christmas home decor, but they can give you a bit of a shock when your December electricity bill comes through the letterbox.
You can make small changes around the house during the festive period to save you money without having to compromise of lighting up the whole street with your Christmas decorations. To help you save money this Winter, we have come up with a few helpful Christmas energy saving tips.
Christmas Energy Saving Tips: An Ampower Guide
The Christmas period is a magical time where families get together to put up the Christmas tree and wrap it with as many colourful baubles and lights as possible. However, it can also be a very expensive time of the year; with presents, delicious platters of food and family or work outings costing a large sum, making small changes here and there can make a big difference to your Christmas bill. To make your house light up like a star in the sky this Christmas without having to worry about the cost, follow some of these energy-saving tips.
1. Use LED Lights
We all know that it’s not quite the Christmas season until you have put the bright twinkling lights on the Christmas tree. However, this may be where your electricity bill skyrockets as you light up your home both day and night. A simple change that you can make to help you reduce your electricity bill is to switch your decorations to LED lights.
By now, you may be aware that LED lights use a considerably less amount of electricity, therefore resulting in a reduced electricity bill. Switching to LED Christmas lights will use 90% less electricity, meaning that you can cover your home in as many Christmas lights as you wish and blind the neighbours for as long as you like.
When using LED lights, you do not have to worry about compromising on the style and designs that you can create. LED lights are available in a variety of different colours and lengths, so whether you want a festive green, red, blue and yellow Christmas tree or frantically flashing white lights placed around the fence, you can still find the perfect decorations.
2. Fibre Optic Decorations
Alongside your LED Christmas lights, you should also consider investing in some fibre optic decorations. Fibre optics are a collection of thin glass or plastic strands that conduct light rather than electricity. The decorations will work by placing a small LED light under a bunch of strands and then the light is distributed up the decoration giving the appearance that the strands have lit up. The reason this will save you money is because, like LED lights, they do not need as much electricity to produce a beautiful effect.
Fibre optic decorations come with a variety of different designs and colours, so you will never be short of decoration ideas. You can decide to have a beautifully lit and fun Christmas ornament such a Christmas village with flying reindeers to pop above the fireplace. A growing trend in Christmas home design is to have a fibre optics Christmas tree. This is the perfect addition to your Christmas decor as it lights up the whole room and passes the light through each strand, giving a beautiful white spray of elegance. By having a fibre optics Christmas tree, not only are you saving money due to the reduced energy needed to light it up, but you will also not have to put lights on the tree, saving you even more time, and more importantly, money.
3. Turn Off The Lights
To gain the full Christmas experience, enjoy the lights on your Christmas tree by turning off the main light in the room. This way, the room can be lit up with the stunning array of colours and bright lights that you have decorated the room with. Although this may seem like a small change to make over Christmas, it can save you money as there is no need to waste energy when the room already has a light source - the tree. By doing this, you will also give your home a Christmas feeling and make it feel welcoming and cosy.
Another light that you should consider turning off every now and then are the Christmas lights themselves. Although you may want to show your Christmas spirit every hour of every day, it could cost you a lot of money if you have the lights on all the time. Turn the lights off during the day when the sun is out as it will be hard to see your lights anyway. You can then turn the lights back on as soon as the sun goes down and enjoy your display. Another time you should consider turning off your Christmas lights is as you go to bed. Not only will this save you money, but it will also help you and your neighbours sleep as there will not be any light coming through your windows.
If you want to save energy by turning off your Christmas lights during the day, but still be able to see your house a mile away as your drive home from work, then you can purchase lights with a built-in timer. By having lights with a timer, you can choose the times that you want your lights to turn on and off. This will make sure that you don’t have to get out of bed in the middle of the night and walk across the cold floor because you forgot to turn the lights off. You can start to design your Christmas decorations with a range of lights with timers on Wayfair.
Using a timer would also be a good idea for Christmas lights in the office. This way you can set it so that the lights turn off later in the afternoon when everyone has left the office. Businesses already use a lot of electricity and energy during the day to keep the business going; for this reason, it can become expensive to decorate the office with an abundance of Christmas lights. If you need help with your business electricity this Christmas, you can always talk to Ampower specialists to help you make an electricity plan.
4. Light It Up With Candles
For a cosy Christmas decoration idea, you can choose to turn off your lights and light up your home with an array of candles. Candles are a fantastic way to add a light source into your home without using energy and its also a creative way to decorate the home. You can choose to pick candles that are the same colour as the rest of your decorations, or you can place then into festive candle holders. Candles are a cheap and effective way to give your home that snug Christmas feeling, especially when watching your favourite Christmas movies. For ideas on candle Christmas decorations, take a look at Around The World Christmas’ blog post.
Not only are candles a great way to light up your home when on a budget, but it can also be a fun activity to complete with your family. You can set up your kitchen with plastic table covers and make your own candles as a fun, festive tradition. ProFlowers has a brilliant guide on how to make candles in 8 easy steps, for the perfect Christmas homemade decoration. To make it feel extra special, you can have everyone light up their own candle every night and blow it out before going to bed.
5. Turn Down The Heat
Christmas time is about the whole family travelling to one location to spend the day together and celebrate. Although it may be cold outside, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to turn the heating up. You can reduce your energy bill by turning on your heating in the morning and then turn it off when all of your guests turn up. The more bodies that you have in your house and the warmer it will keep. When you are serving up food, the heat from your perfectly roasted potatoes and crispy Yorkshire puddings will keep you and your guests nice and toasty.
If you have trouble keeping your energy bills low and would like a resolution to your problem, then Ampower can help create the perfect residential gas plans. For more information about our services, feel free to contact our team today.
6. Switch To Dual Energy Plans
Energy-saving doesn’t only have to be for Christmas! The winter period can see a rise in your energy bills as you try to heat up your home and natural light is limited. By making the switch to Ampower, you can save yourself up to £250 on your annual bills which you could be spending on treating your family and friends to Christmas gifts. With Ampower, you can reduce your home and business energy bills with custom made and affordable tariffs.
Feel free to speak to our customer service team today to get your free quote and start saving money on your energy bills this Christmas.
Save Energy This Christmas
Making changes so that you can save energy over the Christmas period does not mean that you have to miss out on all of the Christmas fun. You can still light up your house and show off your Christmas spirit while also saving yourself money. Simply by making small changes such as the type of lights that you use, can have a significant impact on your energy.
If you are concerned about your energy usage and would like to make sure that your home helps you to save money, then Ampower can provide you with a range of electricity plans for homes. Please contact one of our electricity specialists today to find out more about our services and to start planning your home saving.