Top ten tips: Festive frugality - how to save at Christmas
Monday, 19 December 2011 2:50 PM
With energy prices soaring and a cold winter just around the corner, many people are preoccupied with finding ways to save energy and money this Christmas.
Verdo Renewables are giving away a year's supply of wood briquettes in our competition, so we've asked them for a few more tips on how to be energy efficient:
Alistair McGlynn, UK sales manager for Verdo, said: “It’s been incredibly warm this winter so far, but with the mercury dropping now is a good time to start thinking about getting your winter fuel sorted.
"Not only do we hope our customers save cash, but also by reducing energy usage, do a small bit for our environment."
Here are Verdo Renewables' top ten money saving Christmas tips:
1. Eat out – with so many value Christmas meals on offer from quality establishments, it can be more economic to save on bills and eat out on Christmas Day - plus mum gets to relax and there’s no washing up to deal with!
2. Light bulb change – LED lights use 90% less than regular Christmas lights so changing over can result in significant savings and can be purchased for a minimal cost.
3. Timed lighting - not only a fantastic deterrent for criminals, energy companies are more intelligent than ever, providing timers and how-to guides on ‘switching off’ your home and Christmas decorations.
4. Verdo Briquettes - burn for twice as long as standard logs and £289 for a pallet of briquettes will last you for about as long as £800 of seasoned logs! Plus they are FSC accredited so you can purchase Verdo and be confident that you are not contributing towards deforestation.
5. Insulate – placing foil behind radiators instantly saves a significant amount of energy, resulting in lower central heating bills. Considering the recent increase in gas and electricity bills, this is advice worth following.
6. Recycle for cash – there's a wealth of websites offering to pay for unwanted items which might be cluttering your home, including books, clothes, CDs and mobile phones - this can provide you some much needed cash for Christmas.
7. Buy gifts that don’t require electricity or batteries - according to energyquest.ca.gov, 40% of all batteries are purchased during the festive period. Buying energy free gifts will skip the cost entirely and avoid those subsequent purchases, plus it means less potentially harmful batteries are sent to land fill in the long run.
8. Bake several dishes at once - the majority of the energy used in baking goes into heating the oven initially, so make the most of a hot oven and cook numerous dishes in one session. Maybe you can even make extra cakes and sell them or just give them away to your neighbours and friends? No doubt you’ll be very popular and who knows what they might cook up for you in return!
9. Turn your thermostat down - by reducing it by just one degree, you can save £55 a year and 230kg of carbon - good news for you and good news for the environment.
10. Close your fire place damper – traditional fireplaces actually lose energy when not in use as the flue sucks the warmth out of your house. Close the damper when you go to work or visit friends during the festive period – just ensure there aren’t any smouldering embers lingering!
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- christmas ,
- save money ,
- top ten
