The festive season is here and it’s a time for family, food and fun, but with the country currently facing an energy crisis, it’s time to look at ways to save energy so we aren’t forced to have a candlelit Christmas dinner.

Be smart about lighting

It’s hard to expect people not to light up their homes this Christmas after all it’s all part of the holiday cheer. If you’ve been wise and followed our instructions from part 1 you may be tempted to overlook this section but there is always more to do.

Waiting until dark to turn on your beautiful LED Christmas lights it’s another way to save energy. Remember to turn them off before bed time and if that’s going to be a problem then set them on a timer. You can also turn off additional lighting, like room lights, when your tree is lit up.

Smart cleaning

More guests mean more food, more dishes and more energy to run that dishwasher. So what can you do? Well for starters only run your dishwasher when it is full. For easy-to-clean loads, use the light or short cycle.

You can also let the dishes air-dry, you just have to use the no-heat or energy saving drying cycle and open the door when the wash cycle is complete and the contents are sufficiently hot to allow air-drying.

Unplug everything

If you are going on vacation this year we haven’t left you out. If anything you can be the biggest contributors to energy savings during this period. You simply have to unplug everything.

TVs, DVD players, computers, printers, radios and many other electronics use energy even when they aren’t turned on, so to be sure you’re saving energy unplug them.

Click here to read Part 1.