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5 Best Money Saving Energy Tips for the Holidays

With the holiday season right around the corner, it’s important to start considering your daily household energy consumption.  As the nights get colder and the holiday decorations go up, take a look at these 5 best money saving energy tips to get you ready for the holidays.

Energy tips for the holidays

1) Seal any access points

If you haven’t done so already, make sure all of your attic access points, doors and windows are properly sealed.  Those small cracks can allow hot air to seep out while cool air fills up your home.  This is often the case for many homes around Florida.

2) Close the flume on your fireplace

Even in Florida, during the holiday season, it’s nice to have a fire going.  It’s a great way to warm up a living space naturally while getting into the holiday spirit. However, when you’re not using the fireplace be sure to always close the flume.  

Leaving it open will allow precious hot air to escape through the roof, kicking on your heater and wasting valuable energy resources.

3) Install a programmable thermostat

Installing a programmable thermostat can do wonders when it comes to lowering your holiday energy bill.  It will not only ensure that your air conditioning and heating is running at the right times, but it can take the worry out of conditioning your entire home.

Are you one to turn off your heater at night, only to wake up to a frigid home in the morning?  With a programmable thermostat, you can set the house to remain at a certain temperature without constantly running your heat or air conditioning.

4) Close vents in unoccupied rooms

If you have a spare bedroom, bathroom or office you never use, be sure to save precious energy by closing off the vents to these rooms.  By leaving them open, you are heating and/or cooling spaces that are otherwise unused.

5) Install a Ground Fault Receptacle

If you plan to decorate your home for the holiday season, be sure to use outdoor graded lighting and plug them into a ground fault receptacle.  Every year people become injured from not properly weatherproofing their lights; especially in coastal regions such as Destin and Panama City Beach where there are a plethora of boat docks, jet ski lifts, and other outdoor water equipment.

If you’re unsure about the safety of any outdoor electronics, as well as other energy saving methods that could be implemented around your household, contact us at Gulf Coast Electric.  Our certified technicians will be more than happy to ensure all of your Ground Fault Receptacles are in working order as well as provide additional tips on how to make your home energy efficient for the holiday season.