THE most wonderful time of the year is here! Christmas carols are being heard, there are huge shopping promotions, and cleaning and decoration of houses have begun. However, with all of this good stuff, the holiday season also brings an expected increase in our use of energy.

While this is probably the most worrying aspect of the season, there are simple things we can practise that would reduce our energy use, bringing the additional benefit of a reduction in our electricity bill. For the holidays it is expected that there would be two main categories of energy use: lighting and electronics and the kitchen. Here are some general tips:

LIGHTING AND ELECTRONICS
•    Limit the time lights are on

– Wait until dark to turn on your fairy lights; then, turn them off before you go to bed. Six hours or less of daily use is a good goal to aim for.

– Depending on the amount of fairy lights you put up, you can create a festive atmosphere by turning off the main lights while the fairy lights are on.

– Instead of using old, traditional fairy lights year after year, use LED Christmas lights which use up to 90% less energy than traditional lights use. These remain cool, eliminating a fire hazard, and are shatterproof and shock resistant. They also last for many years and require no bulb changes.

•    Decorate with candles

–  Fairy lights are lovely, but candles can also be used to illuminate the house. Light candles throughout the house to achieve a beautiful holiday glow, without adding to the electric bill.

•    Buy Energy Star electronics

– If you plan on buying new electronics for the season, choose those with the Energy Star label. Energy Star certified electronics – TVs, DVD players, VCRs and cordless phones – use up to 60 – less electricity that their non-certified counterparts.

IN THE KITCHEN
•    Bake several dishes at a time

–  A lot of baking will be done in many homes over the coming weeks. Make the most of your oven and the energy that goes into heating it, by baking several dishes at once. Just make sure you leave enough room for the heat to circulate around each item. Remember: it takes the same amount of energy to heat a full oven as it does a nearly empty one.

– Don’t open the oven door to take a peek, check through the oven window. Opening the oven door lowers the temperature inside by as much as 25°C.

•    Keep lid on pots

–  Foods cook faster (meaning less energy use) when the lid is on.

•    Keeping things cool

– Over the Christmas period your fridge is another appliance which will be under pressure. Clean out your fridge and freezer since there might be stuff there that are past the best-before date.

–  Even a newer fridge uses a lot of energy. Keep the doors closed as much as possible so that cold air doesn’t escape.

KIDS’ ACTIVITY
Find the following words in the word search below related to SAVING ENERGY THIS CHRISTMAS.
candles, energy star, electronics, oven, bake, refrigerator, energy, holiday, fairy lights

You can share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O EIT Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN or email us at eit.epaguyana@gmail.com.