Between the use of heaters, the extra energy spent on Christmaslights and the energy in the kitchen from extra cooking andcleaning, holiday festivities can take a nose dive when theelectric bills come in.

One way consumers can save on energy bills when working on theirholiday displays is to invest in new lights rather than the oldstrands that may have collected in the closets or holidaydecoration boxes over the years. Research done bywww.consumerenergycenter.org shows that some older light strandsare using up to 10 watts per bulb.

“Use the 5-7 watt bulbs instead of the 10 watt bulb,” saidEntergy Customer Service Manager Kenny Goza. “It helps theenvironment, and helps us and our generation. Plus it’s just theright thing to do.”

New miniature lights use about 70 percent less energy and lastmuch longer than the larger bulbs, the Web site said.

Another great energy saver is LED lights that, besides beingmuch safer as they’re shatterproof and shock-resistant, also burncooler and save up to 80-90 percent of energy costs.

Automatic timers can also be a good investment at holiday time,Goza said. Then, Christmas lights are not accidentally left burningthrough the day when they’re not being seen or enjoyed anyway.

“They save money. Timers help you because you can set when theycome on and go off, because they don’t need to burn all the time,using unneccessary energy,” he said. “You should probably set themto come on at dark and go off about bed time.”

The kitchen is also a major energy-sucker during the Christmasseason, with the stove, oven, dishwasher and microwave all runningat the same time. There are several tips that can help keep costsdown while still preparing a mouth-watering meal.

Suggestions on www.consumerenergycenter.org range from leavingthe oven door closed to skipping the preheat process when cookinglong-term dishes such as a turkey or ham.

Opening the oven door lowers the oven temperature as much as 25degrees every time. Goza said there are ways to battle that problemby using more efficient cooking methods.

“If you open the oven door, and you peek in to see howeverything’s doing you’re losing heat, and the oven’s going to haveto heat back up again,” Goza said. “Slow cookers are really good,and another way to save energy is cook things outside when youcan.”

Cooking with glass or ceramic pans can also be a great help, asthe oven can be turned down 25 degrees and the food will cook justas quickly. In addition, using the right size of pot or pan can beimperative as a 6-inch pot on an 8-inch burner can waste as much as40 percent of the energy generated by the burner.

“Use your microwave as much as possible because it is the mostefficient appliance in your kitchen,” Goza said. “If you’ve gotsomething cooking in the oven, turn it off before time to finishwhat you’re cooking. And if it’s heated up and it’s going tocontinue cooking, don’t open the door to check something.”

Officials also caution against opening and closing therefrigerator door, saying that just leaving the door open for alonger period of time can still be more efficient than opening andclosing it several times. Keeping cooling units full is alsoefficient, as the mass of cold items will insulate each other.

Goza said another big energy drain is space heaters. He saidmany people think a space heater can save on the electricity billby heating a smaller part of the house, but that is actuallyinaccurate.

“Electric space heaters are the most energy-using thing you canhave in your house,” he said. “It’s like turning the iron on andleaving it on all the time.

“With the holidays coming up if you’ve got a lot of peoplecoming over you can adjust your thermostat,” he continued. “But alot of people will heat the room up and you’re not going to need itas high as you normally would have it.”