The holiday season and Christmas homecoming is all about joy and happiness. Families and friends gather, spend time together, they chat, play, and cook their favorite food together. There are cookies , hot drinks and special family recipes everywhere.
But this time usually starts from the last Thursday of November to the end of December. This period is marked with extremely cold temperatures. So, for Christmas homecoming it’s very important to make our homes comfortable and cozier. This is not an easy task because it costs a lot.
More people such as extended families, friends or hostelite members mean there will be more use of hot water, more cooking, and excessive utilization of heating systems. All these things cumulatively increase the overall energy bills of homes.
So, does it mean that we should compromise comfort to lower energy bills and ruin our holidays?
No way!
Creating a welcoming home for Christmas doesn’t have to cost more. You can make it festive ready while keeping energy use under control.
In this guide, we will discuss how to make our home energy efficient so that we can reduce holiday energy bills during Christmas homecoming.
How to Reduce Holiday Energy Bills During Christmas Homecoming
Christmas homecoming is all about comfort but the weather conditions during that time of the year is excessively rough and cold. So, comfort is linked with coziness and warmth of homes, too.
To make our gathering more comfortable and fun time, we need to use extra energy as compared to normal days. This results in higher expenditures in the form of energy bills.
Some people might compromise their comfort just to stay economical but in my view it is not an appropriate act. We can control energy bills smartly by bringing about a few changes in our homes and making them festive ready in a sustainable way without using heating systems excessively. Let’s discuss some of the ways that can help us reduce our energy bills, especially during Christmas homecoming!
1. Check Your Home for Hidden Heat Leaks Before Guests Arrive
Small gaps, cracks and improper sealings are portals for warm air to leave and cold air to enter home. These portals are present hidden in our homes and are the reason why thermostat never hits optimum temperature. As a result, heating systems run constantly to compensate. Despite this, our homes still feel chilly and obviously results in higher bills, too. It’s very important to block these portals to maintain optimum temperature.
Besides it, old weather-stripping on doors/windows, worn-out caulk, or missing insulation around vents or light fixtures can let heat slip away, which makes heaters work harder and increases energy bills.
During Christmas homecoming, if there are portals for air movement in your home, you will be needing more energy to make the home cozier. So, it’s very important for you to check these things on your own and fix them. For this purpose you do not need a professional, rather you can fix these portals by yourself.
Seal your windows and doors with foam strips or weather strips. Close the gaps present beneath the exterior door of your home with either door sweeps or draft stopper. Moreover, Caulk around cracks or gaps to block drafts. Also place rugs or bath mats on cold floor areas as they help trap warmth. If your window frames are old or worn out, consider replacing or remodeling them to improve insulation across the home.
Attic hatches, basement rim-joists, and ductwork may lead to chimney effect. In the chimney effect, the warm air which is less dense rises above and leaves home through the portals and cold air which is denser moves down. As a result the warm air of your home continuously rises up and leaves whereas cold air comes in and moves downward away from the portal (so it won’t escape from the home). Because of this exercise, your home feels chilly despite the fact that heating systems are running 24/7. So it’s important to seal attic hatches, basement rim-joists, and ductwork to stop the “chimney effect” and consequently reduce energy bills.
All these measures mentioned in this section will help maintain the temperature of your home and make your home more cozier and gatherings more enjoyable during Christmas homecoming.
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2. Switch to Smart Heating Settings for Holidays
Smart thermostats are different from traditional thermostats because they have sensors, wi-fi, and built-in software. They work smartly and differently as compared to normal thermostats. For example, if your window is opening and temperature falls below optimum temperature, a normal thermostat switches on the heating system to raise the temperature to optimum. The warm air continuously escapes through the window whereas your heating system struggles harder to maintain temperature.
But if you use a smart thermostat, it won’t turn on the heating. Rather, it notifies you through your phone using wi-fi that the window is open and warm air is leaving home. So a smart thermostat works smartly using its built-in sensors, wi-fi, and software to maintain internal temperature.
Moreover it learns about your routine like when you leave home, when you come back, or when you sleep. So, by using its learned knowledge it turns on heating only when you come home, and turns it off when you leave home, or reduces it when you go to sleep.
Some smart thermostats also come with zoning features in which they only heat the part of the home that is occupied. All these features work together to keep your home comfortable while lowering your energy bills with very little effort.
Because of this intelligent control, you can often save 8–15% on heating costs over a year compared to old-style thermostats.
During Christmas homecoming, when you use a smart thermostat, it really helps you a lot to reduce energy bills. You can simply do this by changing the setting of the thermostat according to the routine of your guests. When you do so, it will turn on the heating before the guests arrive, so home stays cozier, warm and guests feel comfortable and welcomed. Moreover, by switching on the zoning feature, it will only heat those parts of the home where guests will be present. So, no heating in non-occupied zones means saving in the form of energy.
Moreover, program your thermostat to reduce heating a bit once guests are off to sleep to keep things comfortable while reducing bills. Furthermore, use timers or scheduled settings so your heating adjusts automatically, without needing to remember to change it manually.
3. Use LED Christmas Lights Instead of Old Bulbs
Home décor and lighting is the essence of Christmas. Christmas never feels magical without decorations, lights and the warm, cozy setup. So, while decorating your home, try to use lights which are energy efficient and earn you savings. LED Christmas lights use as little as 10-25% of the power that old incandescent lights need. As they need less energy, they obviously reduce your bills even if you turn them on the whole season and decorate your complete home with them.
Moreover, LEDs don’t heat up even if they are kept on for a longer period of time. So, they are safe to use around Christmas trees and curtains that may catch fire if décor lights get too heated. In addition to it, their expiry date is very long so they don’t wear out easily and can be used through many holiday seasons.
Typically during holiday or Christmas homecoming celebrations you have to turn on lights for a longer period of time especially until the guests leave or sleep, therefore an LED setup could cost extremely less of what the same display with old bulbs would.
4. Run Appliances on Off-Peak Hours During Homecoming Prep
Off -peak hours are times of the day during which energy prices are low because less people use energy during this period. It usually include time when people are busy in their offices or when most of the people sleep or rest
In the U.S., peak and off-peak hours usually depend on the state and the utility company, but the pattern is mostly the same.
Peak hours are usually late afternoon to evening, around 4 PM to 9 PM, when many people come back from their works and offices and domestic consumption of electricity is maximum.
Off-peak hours are late at night and early morning, around 10 PM to 6 AM. Some utilities also offer cheaper rates during midday hours if solar power is high.
It is advisable to know your state’s peak and off-peak hours and schedule your domestic tasks accordingly. Avoid using heavy-duty machines during peak-hours. Over time, this exercise will help you use more energy during off-peak hours and you will have to pay less cost per unit.
Moreover, during peak hours, grid stations have more load especially during holiday seasons and in some cases if loads crosses the threshold limit they trip off leading to area wide blackouts. As a result your gatherings and celebrations get spoiled. So, it’s effective to do your domestic chores during off-peak hours especially during Christmas homecomings and holiday seasons
So during Christmas homecoming, try to use heavy duty machines during off peak hours. Do your baking, laundry, or dish-washing early morning or late at night when electricity is cheaper. This way, you get your home ready for guests (clean towels, nice meals, spotless dishes) without raising your electricity bill a lot.
5. Prepare a Guest-Ready, Energy-Efficient Bathroom
Bathrooms are one of the most used rooms of your home. During Christmas homecoming there are more people than usual at home and bathroom use increases more. Additional people mean extra use of hot water, hot showers, exhaust fans, and overall bathroom heating system.
During the whole situation heating water is the major factor behind excessive bills. But we can reduce energy consumption in the bathroom by incorporating small changes in our bathroom’s heating system to make them sustainable.
Instead of using a normal showerhead that uses excessive water for creating water spray, use a low-flow showerhead. It mixes water with air and water spray feels strong without using excessive water.
Moreover, to reduce the energy consumption in heating water, it is recommended to set your water heater to 120 °F (49°C). It keeps water hot enough for comfort and safety but uses less energy than higher settings.
In order to remind guests gently to stay responsible, don’t waste water and stay in too long, add time reminders and alarms. This reduces the wastage of water and ultimately bills, too.
Most of the bathroom heat escapes through the gaps around the bath’s exhaust fan. So it is very important to seal those gaps around exhaust fans to prevent the loss of energy. By doing so, heat stays in and the optimum temperature of the bathroom won’t get disturbed. So, the need to turn on the heaters in the bathroom gets reduced.
Instead of using electric towel heater rails, use sunlight to dry the used towel naturally. Moreover, you can use towels made of quick-dry fabrics like microfiber, linen, bamboo, or turkish cotton. Towels made of these fabrics dry quickly without the need of heating rails.
A nice holiday touch is to create a “pampered” bathroom feel while still saving energy — add cozy holiday-themed towels, a small LED candle, or a pretty basket of essentials, so guests feel welcomed even with efficient choices.
FAQs about Reducing Holiday Energy Bills During Christmas Homecoming
1. Why do energy bills increase during Christmas homecoming?
During Christmas homecoming people return back to their homes. More people such as extended families, friends or hostelites mean there will be more use of hot water, more cooking, and excessive utilization of heating systems. All these things cumulatively increase the overall energy bills of homes.
How can I keep my home warm for guests without raising the thermostat?
You can make your home feel warm by using soft blankets, layered rugs, thermal curtains, and warm-toned lighting. These create a cozy feel and help block cold air, so your home stays comfortable without turning up the heat.
3. What small changes help lower energy bills before Christmas homecoming?
Simply block the air portals, use energy efficient LED Christmas lights for décor, Try to complete your domestic chores during off-peak hours, use smart thermostats, bring sustainable and energy efficient changes in your bathrooms in the form of setting water heater to 120F or 49C etc.
4. How do LED Christmas lights save money during the holidays?
Yes! Some LED lights use as little as 10-25% of the power that old incandescent lights need. Because they use less electricity, LED lights cost much less to run over the holiday season even if you decorate a whole house.
5. How can I make my bathroom more energy-efficient for guests?
You can install a low-flow showerhead, seal gaps around the exhaust fan, lower the water heater to 120°F, and use quick-dry towels instead of heated towel rails. These changes save both water and electricity while keeping guests comfortable.
