Tips to keep your electric bill from turning you into a Scrooge over the holidays | Business

Released by Reliant Energy:

 With all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season - the decorating and cooking – Reliant is helping consumers make sure their electricity bill doesn’t turn their holiday cheer to bah humbug.

 Holiday traditions of home cooking and beautiful decorations won’t break the bank, but there are still ways to save.

 Below are a few suggestions from Reliant on how consumers can make their holidays a little greener:

• Save energy with light-emitting diode (LED) lights this holiday season. They use approximately 90 percent less energy than an incandescent strand. What's more, they're shatterproof, cool to the touch and long lasting. And, the price of LEDs has come down dramatically and some are now comparable to traditional incandescent lights.

• Use timers to limit indoor and outdoor light displays to no more than six evening hours per day. Consider setting the lights to come on from 6 p.m. to midnight to save energy. Leaving lights on 24/7 can quadruple your energy costs. Also, timers make it easy to turn the lights on and off. Make sure that the timer you use is rated to handle the total wattage of your lights.

• Go ahead and enjoy that twelve-foot snow globe or Santa. Decorative lawn inflatables are eye-catching and they don’t guzzle much energy. They only cost about one penny an hour to operate. You can save energy by using LED lights on the holiday tree or opt for lawn displays that use LED technology.

Make sure your holiday lights and displays are safe.

• Do not overload electric sockets/extension cords, and thoroughly inspect light strands and discard damaged cords. Replace extension cords after about 3 years.

• Make sure light strands used outside are rated for outdoor use and follow manufacturer’s recommendations when connecting multiple strands. Some extension cords are rated to support multiple strands and some are not.

Maximize your energy dollar while cooking your favorite holiday foods.

• Look beyond your oven when cooking large meals. Try and use the microwave or stove top whenever possible. Microwaves use around 75 percent less energy than conventional ovens.

• Don’t worry when using your oven to bake that turkey or ham. Baking for three to fours will only cost you any where between four and seven bucks.