During Christmas homecoming loved ones return to their homes to celebrate Christmas with love and joy. Families unite and spend their time together by chatting, playing, and cooking. People cook and share holiday meals like cookies , hot drinks and special family recipes. Homes are decorated and are made cozy so the guests and loved ones enjoy their together time without feeling cold and becoming uncomfortable.
But all these joyous moments and family time is mostly followed by stress and financial pressure in the form of high energy bills. During Christmas homecoming there is extra cooking, excessive use of electricity, extra laundry, increased degrees on thermostat, and a lot more. This excessive utilization of basic utilities results in high energy bills.
So, does it mean that you should compromise comfort to lower the energy bills?
ABSOLUTELY NO!
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
Although Christmas homecoming and Holiday Seasons are the most joyous times of the year where families and friends sit together to get relaxed to detox themselves by sharing the burdens of the whole year with their loved ones.
But this time brings extra stress in the form of high expenditures. One of the main reasons behind financial stress during this period is energy bills. As that time of the year is marked with excessive cold and extra guests, the energy bill definitely rises too much. 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
Every leak under 1 inch wide can disturb the internal temperature of your home, which makes your heating system run constantly to compensate. That means higher energy bills and a house that still feels chilly.
There are many places in our home where there are small gaps, cracks and improper sealing. These are the portals from where warm air can whisk out and cold air can slip in. So it’s very important to block them and maintain the internal temperature to optimum without using excessive energy in the form of raised degrees on the thermostat, excessive use of fireplaces etc.
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. If your windows and doors are already sealed, check whether sealing is intact, and working properly or not.
- The gap which is present under the exterior door serves as a portal for air. Warm air goes out and cold air comes in through it. So, close this air portal with either door sweep or draft stopper. They are long fabric tube, a foam roll, or a light weighted cushion that blocks the movement of air
- Caulk around cracks or gaps to block drafts.
- Seal attic hatches, basement rim-joists, and ductwork to stop the “chimney effect.” Actually if your attic is not sealed properly, warm air which is less dense rises up and colder air being denser moves down. The unsealed attic lets this warm air escape your home. So warm air escapes continuously and cold air comes in consequently your home never hits the optimum temperature set on the thermostat and your heating systems run constantly to compensate.
- If your window frames are old or worn out, consider replacing or remodeling them to improve insulation across the home
- Place rugs or bath mats on cold floor areas as they help trap warmth.
Read More: California Holiday Fire Safety Checklist for Winter Homes and Celebrations
2. Switch to Smart Heating Settings for Holiday Nights
Smart thermostats are different from traditional switches because they have sensors, wi-fi, and built-in software. Sensors sense temperature, humidity, and sometimes whether someone is in the room and then trigger heating accordingly. With the help of wi-fi it communicates with your smart home system too. They are intelligent because they know how to control temperature. For example if the window is open and temperature has fallen below the optimum temperature, unlike traditional thermostat it wont promote heating to bring the temperature to optimum either it will notify you through your phone to close the window so keep the heat in.
These thermostats are smart and therefore they learn about your daily routine like when you sleep, when you wake up, when you leave home, when home is totally empty. On the basis of your routine it turns heating on and off like when you sleep it brings down heating, it warms home when it’s time to return home etc.
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.
When you are using a smart thermostat you can program it according to your guest’s comfort. You can simply set your smart thermostat to warm up the home before guests arrive, so everything feels cozy when they enter. Moreover, program your thermostat to reduce heating a bit once guests are off to sleep to keep things comfortable while reducing bills.
Using a thermostat you can turn on zoning to heat only the rooms which are being used by guests. 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
LED Christmas lights use much less electricity than traditional bulbs. 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.
LEDs stay cool when they are on unlike older bulbs that get hot like old-style bulbs. Because they stay cool, they’re safer around Christmas trees, curtains, or other decorations that might catch fire.
LED lights tend to last much longer than old bulbs. That means you likely won’t have to replace them for many holiday seasons.
A string of LED lights can use about 1/5 – 1/10 the power of a similar string of old bulbs.
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 when less people use electricity. As the demand of electricity is low so electricity costs comparatively cheaper than peak hours. 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 are consuming electricity and making maximum use of appliances that run on electricity.
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.
If you run heavy duty machines during off-peak hours, you pay less per unit of electricity. Over time, this exercise can lower your energy bills a lot especially if you run machines often (for example laundry or dishwasher).
Also, using appliances when the grid is not crowded helps the whole electricity system stay stable and that’s good for everyone. Because sometimes, when load on grid stations are high, they trip off leading to area wide blackouts.
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. Create a Warm Home Style Without Turning Up the Thermostat
A warm home style is about decorating your home in a way that makes it feel soft, cozy, and snug, especially in winter without needing to raise the heater. It’s not about physical heat; it’s about the look and feel of the room. When a space looks warm, your mind naturally feels warmer too.
Soft things like throw blankets, layered rugs, cushions, and thick or thermal curtains help rooms feel warmer because they trap some heat and stop cold air from reaching you. They work like a “shield” between you and the cold air. When you sit on a soft surface or wrap yourself in a blanket, your body heat stays close to you instead of escaping into the cold room.
Warm-toned lighting is soft, yellowish, or golden lighting just like the light from a lamp, candle, or fairy lights. These colors do not trap heat or warm your room but they look warm to our eyes, making everything feel cozier.
So when a room is lit with warm-toned lights your brain thinks the space is warmer and safer and the room looks cozy even if the actual temperature is the same. This effect is called “visual warmth.” You don’t increase the thermostat, you just use lighting and colors to trick your brain into feeling warmer.
For Christmas homecoming, you can use festive throws, fluffy pillows, knitted stockings, and safe LED candles to add both comfort and holiday spirit. Try to place sofas and chairs away from cold windows or outside walls so guests don’t feel drafts on their backs. With a few simple décor choices, you can make your home feel snug and welcoming for returning family and friends, without touching the thermostat.
6. Prepare a Guest-Ready, Energy-Efficient Bathroom
During Christmas homecoming, there are more members in your home. Additional people mean extra use of hot water, hot showers, exhaust fans, and overall bathroom heating system. Moreover, usage of hot water increases more than normal. Heating water alone during the holiday season results in an excessive increase in the energy bill. But if we incorporate small changes in our bathroom’s system, it can help reduce a lot of waste.
To make your bathroom energy efficient, use a low-flow showerhead. This kind of bathroom fixture mixes air with water so the water spray still feels strong even though it uses much less water. Moreover you can add simple time reminders to remind the guests very gently to stay responsible and don’t stay in too long.
There are pretty high chances that most of the bathroom heat escapes through the gaps around the bath’s exhaust fan. So it is very important to fill and seal those gaps to prevent the loss of energy.
Some people use electric towel heater rails to dry wet or used towels. These rails use electricity and can increase your bills. You can stay energy efficient by using the towel 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. Or simply you can spread used or wet towels under sunny spots to dry them naturally.
A nice holiday touch is to create a “pampered” bathroom feel while still saving energy. For this purpose add cozy holiday-themed towels, a small LED candle, or a pretty basket of essentials, so guests feel welcomed even with efficient choices.
As discussed in the start of this section, heating water during the holiday season is one of the major reasons behind extra bills, so 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.
FAQs about Reducing Holiday Energy Bills During Christmas Homecoming
Why do energy bills increase during Christmas homecoming?
Christmas homecoming means extra guests and extra guests mean more cooking, more hot water, more laundry, extra heating, and longer lighting hours. All these things cumulatively increase the total energy bills during the holidays.
How can I keep my home warm without raising the thermostat?
To make your home cozier without raising the thermostat you must create visual warmth by using warm -toned lights, thick curtains, rugs, etc. Moreover to prevent the warm heat from leaving and cold air from entering home you must block the hidden openings in your home.
Do LED Christmas lights really save money?
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.
How can I manage bathroom energy use during the holidays?
Use a low-flow showerhead to reduce hot water usage, seal gaps around the exhaust fan, and switch to quick-dry towels instead of electric towel heaters. Also, set the water heater to 120°F (49°C) to save energy safely.
To keep your bathroom energy efficient during the holiday season, you must use a low-flow showerhead, seal the gaps around exhaust fans, use a quick dry towel or use sunlight to dry a used or wet towel. Moreover, set the water heater temperature to 120°F (49°C). It keeps water hot enough for comfort and safety but uses less energy than higher settings.
5. What’s the easiest way to lower bills without changing my holiday plans?
Run major appliances like the washer, dryer, dishwasher, and oven prep during off-peak hours late at night or early morning when electricity costs less. This small shift makes a big difference without affecting your celebrations.