Ways to keep your electricity bill low with holiday decorations 

Holiday cheer and decorations can add dollar signs to your electricity bill.

The Christmas lights on Chocky Warriner’s Fort Myers home went up for day after Thanksgiving and will be up through the first week of January.

“My wife likes it. I like it. It looks good at night,” Chocky said. “We get some compliments with what we got even though it’s kind of basic with the white strand lights and the deer.”

Winter is the time of year it finally gets cooler and we can save on our electricity bills because the AC isn’t constantly running in Southwest Florida. Chocky’s Florida Power and Light bill increases due to the extra holiday decorations.

“It’s probably up to $270 during the holiday season,” Chocky explained. “Off season, $200.”

FPL’s Energy Solution Specialist Depri Hammond said there are ways to keep your holidays merry and bright and keep that bill low. A couple of changes to how you decorate can help keep that bill on the straight and narrow.

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First, check your lights. Are they LEDs?

“Your LED lights are going to save 80 to 90 percent more than your incandescent light bulbs,” Hammond added. “Also with LED lighting, they last up to 10 times longer.”

Plus, you can get LED lights in whatever color you want, not just the harsh, bright white light they’re known for. Battery or solar powered lights help keep that bill down too. You just have to worry about the initial purchase.

Are your Christmas tree lights and other plugged-in decorations on a timer? They should be.

“So that we are not lighting the neighborhood at 3am when no one sees them,” Hammond said. “Or use a power strip so it’s very simple to shut off when it’s bedtime and we’re not running any unnecessary power but still enjoying that festive lighting.”

Those huge lawn inflatables should definitely be on a timer. They’re energy and money suckers to begin with.

“Inflatables are probably going to be in our top tier of your energy usage with fans and motors running. Like everything else with our festive decorations, please make sure to put it on a timer so we’re making sure we aren’t getting extra energy usage overnight,” Hammond added.

Make safety your first priority. Make sure the lights you are stringing outside your home or any other electric decorations you want to put outside and meant to go outside. If any wires are frayed on any of them, toss them.

FPL has even more holiday electricity saving tips here and here.