Saving energy in the (pre)Christmas period: reduce consumption without giving up completely

Saving energy in the (before) Christmas period
Reduce consumption without giving up completely

For many, the magic of lights is as much a part of Christmas as cookies and mulled wine. If you don’t want to do without it, you can still save energy with a few simple tricks.

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Due to the ongoing energy crisis, many people are saving electricity wherever they can. These tips will help.

Baking cookies, a cozy and warm living room and holiday lights: That is what the Christmas season means to most people. However, because of the sharp rise in energy costs, many households are doing without the big pomp this year and are trying to save additional energy. This is also shown by a current Civey survey commissioned by the energy provider Eon, according to which around three quarters of Germans (74.6 percent) pay attention to the energy-saving aspect of Christmas lights, for example. These tips and tricks will save you more than just lighting.

Christmas sea of ​​lights

If you don’t want to do without your holiday lights, but still use conventional light sources from days gone by, modern LED lighting means there is enormous potential for savings. The consumer center speaks from a five to ten times lower power consumption and with two months of lighting from a CO2 saving of more than 20 kilograms if you replace your long-serving chain of lights with a modern LED variant. This applies to both outdoor lighting and the Christmas tree in the living room.

In order to check the actual savings yourself, we recommend using an ammeter between the socket and the chain of lights. This is a tried and tested means of identifying other power guzzlers in the household and replacing them with more efficient alternatives if necessary. For Eon Managing Director Jens Michael Peters, this is a sensible approach beyond Christmas: “Transparency of consumption is a prerequisite for understanding: the more precisely you understand what you are consuming, the better you can take measures to reduce consumption.”

Saving energy in the cooking and baking room

For many, the smell of cookies, mulled wine and the festive roast are just as much a part of the Christmas season as festive lighting. The problem: Compared to the stovetop, an oven usually consumes significantly more electricity. Savings can also be made here, especially with cookies, gingerbread and the like, you should make sure that you don’t just put individual trays in the oven, but several, as the Stiftung Warentest advises. She also recommends cooking roasts in good-quality pots rather than in the oven to save even more energy.

TV, Internet and Co.

For many people, only certain films on TV really ring in the Christmas season. But it doesn’t matter whether it’s “Home Alone”, “Sissi” or “Sleepless in Seattle”: Even those who don’t want to do without these strips can save electricity. The options range from lower screen brightness to watching on smaller devices, such as a tablet instead of a television, to downloading videos rather than streaming them via Netflix, Disney+ and Co. Finally, late in the evening, you should think about completely disconnecting the devices from the power supply instead of allowing them to go on eating electricity in stand-by mode.

Switching off your devices completely or unplugging them from the power supply also applies to all other devices. If you are not at home, you should disconnect your WiFi router, decorative lighting and the stereo system or power supply units for your laptop, tablet or smartphone from the power supply. Because all these tricks together make a difference, says Eon boss Peters: “If everyone implements measures together, the overall effect is enormous.”

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