Most people will agree that the holidays are rife with overspending. Not only are you buying tons of extra food for family feasts, spending way too much money on gifts for family member, friends, and even acquaintances, and putting more fuel in your car than normal as your run tons of extra errands, but you’re probably also increasing your demand for water, gas, and energy thanks to all the activities that keep you up longer than normal and the many visitors staying in your home. The long and short of it is that you could be drastically increasing your energy costs during the holidays. But there is something you can do about it; several things, in fact. Here are just a few smart moves that could help you to conserve energy throughout the season and lower your bills in the process.

1.  Schedule a home energy audit. A good place to start when it comes to conservation in the home is by calling in a specialist to perform a home energy audit. This professional will run a series of tests and inspect your home from top to bottom in search of energy waste. And once you have a report in hand you’ll know exactly which areas need weather stripping, insulation, or sealants to plug gaps and leaks that are letting the bought air out. When you deal with these issues you could enjoy greater control over the temperature in your home and significantly increase energy efficiency in the process, reducing costs, to boot.

2.  Program your thermostat. If you have a programmable thermostat and you’re not using it appropriately, you could be missing out on some major savings. It’s time to take advantage of this digital helper by programming in a schedule that accounts for absences, like times when your family members are away at work or school. Dropping the temperature in your home during the day can definitely cut costs, but also advantageous is the fact that your system will gradually ramp up until your home is at the desired temperature when you return. When you manually increase the demand for heat by several degrees at once, it taxes your system and costs you a lot more.

3.  Use LED lighting. Standard holiday light strings are going to increase your energy draw by a significant margin. Although they’re festive, you might not be keen to pay the piper after the fact. You should therefor consider using LED lights instead. They not only require a lot less energy for the same amount of light, but they tend to last much longer, as well.

4.  Install a smart home alarm system. It’s common for families to travel to visit relatives over the holidays, and many set lights on a timer while they’re away to give the illusion that their house isn’t empty, which could make it a target for robbery. But you might want to consider installing (or upgrading to) a smart home system like those offered by Vivint and ADT, just for example. With the right system you can control your alarm, thermostat, lights, electronics, and more remotely with your mobile devices, allowing you to randomly turn systems on and off for a much more convincing display of your probable presence in the home. Plus, it could end up saving you a lot on energy costs in a variety of ways.

5.  Maintain or upgrade your HVAC. If you’re having issues with your HVAC system, the real problem could be that you’re failing to perform regular inspections and maintenance. By calling in a technician annually you can ensure that your system receives the cleaning and repairs it needs to function at optimum levels. Of course, if prior neglect has led to significant damage, or your system is seriously outdated, you might want to consider hiring a home comfort specialist to assess your system and recommend an upgrade to more energy efficient equipment instead. If you really want to save money, though, you could always check out online tutorials and learn to service your HVAC system (or at least change the filter) on your own.