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How to use Technology to have an Eco-Friendly Christmas this year!

With Christmas quickly approaching us and the dread of debt for all the Christmas presents, food, decorations and much more. Why dont you take a step back and have an affordable and eco-friendly christms this year with the help of technology? Which is not only great for the environment, but great for your wallet too.

LED Lights

Did you know the LED lights use up to 95% less energy than traditional bulbs? LED lights convert 95% of their energy into light and only 5% into heat, whereas fluorescent lights convert 95% into heat and only 5% into light! LED lights also draw much less power than traditional lighting. A typical 84-watt fluorescent lightbulb can be replaced with a 36 watt LED bulb. Using less energy reduces the demand from power plants and therefore decreases greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to this, LED lights have a better quality of light distribution and a longer lifespan. LED bulbs can last up to 100,000 hours. Due to all of the above factors, this means that LED lighting is cheaper in the long run and better for the environment.

LED lights are no more expensive either, you can pick them up in the form of fairy lights for a couple of pounds. You can use these to decorate your tree with this year and not have to worry about the strain of them on your electricity bill.

Go Online

Another way to use technology for an eco-friendly Christmas would be to go online. There are two main things that you can choose to do online that may really help you this Christmas. Firstly, you can buy E-Cards online or create your own and send them to your receivers inbox. The point of doing this is so that you save money on unnecessary packaging. You can also do your Christmas shopping online. This could be your presents or your food shopping, resulting in you saving on car emissions.

Saving on heating

One way to save on your heating over Christmas would be by using a Smart Thermostat. You will need to pay for the initial thermostat and its installation but once this has been installed it will forever save you money. You can control the thermostat from your Smartphone, you can control which rooms you would like the heating on and at what time. You can then also purchase extra sensors which can be put on doors and this will enable the heating to turn on in a room once that door has been opened. By setting schedules for your heating you could save up to £130 a year. One product we recommend for this would be Hive Active Heating Smart Thermostat.

Smart Power Strips

So you may not have heard of Smart Power Strips before but they really are an amazing asset for saving electricity. Many devices you may think are completely off when switched off but they are not, they are in standby mode and are still using power. A Smart Power Strip looks similar to an extension cord but the benefit of it is that it shuts off all power to the devices. It works by preventing power to the electronics when they are plugged in. The benefit of using a Smart Power Strip is that you won’t need to spend the time unplugging all of your devices in order to save energy and money, the Smart Power Strip does that automatically for you.

Gifting for tech lovers

So you want to stay eco-friendly this Christmas but you have a family member or friend who is a massive tech lover? Well, there are many products out there made from sustainable materials that may be ideal. For example, you can get energy-efficient computer monitors. The PowerSensor display line by Phillips has great monitors made for this purpose. If you move away from the monitor then the screen can detect this and will go into power saving mode, this reduces the amount of electricity it draws by 80%.

All of the above factors could really help you to save money on your home this Christmas whilst being eco-friendly!