Thanksgiving season can take a toll on your wallet. With guests coming in and out of the house, increased appliance usage due to cooking and holiday lights and decor, Thanksgiving can cause your home’s energy consumption to skyrocket.
Here are some ways you can you don’t break your bank while hosting a Thanksgiving dinner this year.
- Lower the thermostat a degree or two while cooking and before the guests arrive. Your oven, as well as your guests generating body heat, will help warm up the house.
- Cook side dishes simultaneously with the turkey. This will reduce the amount of time the oven has to be running and saves energy. Best of all, it will lower the amount of time you spend cooking.
- Use lids when cooking on the stovetop. Lids help retain more heat and cook food faster.
- Use glass and ceramic pans and baking dishes. They retain heat better than metal dishes and allow you to reduce the oven temperature by 25°F.
- Use your dishwasher. According to Energy.gov, dishwashers use less than half the energy and also saves on water use.
- Use the microwave instead of your regular oven when possible. Microwave ovens use less than half the power of a regular oven.
- Let leftover hot foods or liquids are cool before you place them in the refrigerator. This will lower reduce the load on the refrigerator.
- Install a dimmer switch for you kitchen and dining room lights. You will double the bulb’s lifespan every time you dim the bulb’s brightness by 10%.
- Use a slow cooker if possible. While it takes food longer to cook, Slow cookers can be a great energy-efficient option. Due to its low wattage, ten hours of slow cooker usage only costs around 21 cents.
Another great way to save on energy over the holidays is to upgrade to a more efficient heating system. Contact our team of heating specialists to see how you can save money on new and efficient heating systems.
