{"id":7381,"date":"2024-12-17T15:01:42","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T20:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sense.com\/?post_type=consumer-blog&#038;p=7381"},"modified":"2024-12-18T11:25:27","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T16:25:27","slug":"bright-holidays-smarter-energy-how-watt-check-helps-you-save","status":"publish","type":"consumer-blog","link":"https:\/\/sense.com\/consumer-blog\/bright-holidays-smarter-energy-how-watt-check-helps-you-save\/","title":{"rendered":"Bright Holidays, Smarter Energy: How Watt Check Helps You Save"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>How Holiday Lights Impact Your Bill<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Did you know holiday lights can increase the average home\u2019s December electricity bill by 10%? With heating costs already climbing this time of year, every extra dollar counts. The type of lights you use, how long they\u2019re on, and how much your energy costs all make a difference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>For example:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>LED lights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> use up to 90% less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs. Running a modest display of LEDs could cost as little as <\/span><b>$2 for the season<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while incandescent lights might run you <\/span><b>$10\u2013$15<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or more.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Switching to LEDs not only saves up to 90% on energy used but could pay for itself in one holiday season, depending on your usage.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-7452 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sense.com\/wp-content\/smush-webp\/2024\/12\/Watt-Check-Phones-1-705x768.png.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"852\" height=\"822\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 852px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 852\/822;\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Let Watt Check Do the Math for You<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With Sense\u2019s Watt Check tool, figuring out your lighting costs is simple\u2014and it\u2019s personalized to your home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s how we do it:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Open the <\/span><b>Dashboard tab<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the Sense app and find the Watt Check tool.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Test your lights by turning them on and following the step-by-step prompts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Calculate your daily and monthly costs based on the number of hours you keep them on.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, my family sets our outdoor lights to turn on at 4 p.m. and off at 10 p.m. Using Watt Check, we learned that reducing this window by two hours saved us more than we expected. We also found that switching from incandescent to LED strands not only cut costs dramatically but allowed us to offset the higher upfront price of LEDs in just one season.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Smarter Decorating, Brighter Holidays<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using Watt Check, we\u2019ve set a family goal to keep our December energy bill increase under 10%. This means fewer surprises, more informed choices, and a holiday display we feel great about\u2014both for our wallet and the environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>What About Old Light Strands?<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Switching to LEDs may leave you with old incandescent strands to deal with. Here are a few eco-friendly options:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Recycle<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> them: Many local waste management facilities, home improvement stores, or specialty scrap metal recyclers will accept them.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Donate<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> them: Schools, thrift stores, or community organizations might reuse them.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whatever you choose, remember that small decisions\u2014like recycling lights or switching to LEDs\u2014make a big difference for the planet.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Celebrate Smarter<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With Sense and Watt Check, you can create a holiday display that\u2019s both beautiful and energy-conscious. Make this year the start of a brighter, more efficient tradition for your family\u2014and enjoy the holidays without worrying about your energy bill.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Happy holidays from my family to yours!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Decorating for the holidays is a cherished tradition in my family (Deanne from CX writes)\u2014unpacking ornaments, untangling strands of lights, and lighting up the tree together. But these days, thanks to Sense and the Watt Check tool, we\u2019ve added an extra step to the fun: figuring out how much energy each light strand uses so we can enjoy the season while staying mindful of our energy costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2347,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"consumer-blog-category":[7,5],"content-type":[13],"featured":[],"class_list":["post-7381","consumer-blog","type-consumer-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","consumer-blog-category-energy-usage-tips","consumer-blog-category-product-features","content-type-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Bright Holidays, Smarter Energy: How Watt Check Helps You Save - Sense<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sense.com\/consumer-blog\/bright-holidays-smarter-energy-how-watt-check-helps-you-save\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bright Holidays, Smarter Energy: How Watt Check Helps You Save - Sense\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Decorating for the holidays is a cherished tradition in my family (Deanne from CX writes)\u2014unpacking ornaments, untangling strands of lights, and lighting up the tree together. 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