Twelve days of energy savings
Unwrap these tips and save
This holiday, family, friends, and cooler temperatures may be rolling into your home. And when they do, remember to watch your energy use carefully to keep your electric bills steady and low. Our PEC experts made this energy-saving list — and they checked it twice — to help you unwrap savings throughout the season.
- Close your fireplace damper when you don’t have a fire burning. Heat can quickly escape your home through an open damper.
- Turn the thermostat to 68 degrees and bundle up with layers of clothing and blankets.
- Open south and west-facing curtains and blinds during the day for natural light and to let the sun warm your home. Remember to close them at night to prevent heat loss.
- Download PEC’s SmartHub app to monitor your energy use as precisely as possible.
- Use weatherstripping for the movable parts of doors and windows. Caulk around window frames and baseboards to seal in warmth and prevent air leaks.
- Install a timer on your water heater and set it to operate only during times you anticipate you will need hot water.
- If you’re hosting a holiday party, turn down the thermostat. Having more people in your home and extra heat from cooking means you can lower your thermostat a few degrees and still celebrate comfortably.
- Keep the doors to all rooms open to increase air flow and create a constant temperature throughout the house.
- Decorate your home using LED lights, they use about 70% less energy than traditional bulbs. Set a timer on your holiday lights so they will automatically turn off while you’re sleeping.
- Ask Santa to upgrade your appliances to ENERGY STAR®.
- Reverse your ceiling fans so that they rotate clockwise. Then, run them at a low speed to lower warm air from the ceiling into the occupied space. Always turn off fans when you leave the room.
- Get your home winter- ready. Complete our winter preparedness checklist at pec.coop/prepared.
Find more energy-saving tips at pec.coop/savings.