Make a Difference This Hanukkah

While the word Hanukkah has two meanings, first and foremost, it means ‘dedication’. So if your family is setting out a Menorah this year, why not take the opportunity to dedicate yourselves to new traditions as you also celebrate the old?

Saving energy is good for people, our planet, and the family budget, too. Talk to your family about the importance of making smart energy choices. Then, for each of Hanukkah’s eight nights, learn about a new energy saving tip together. This exercise can show your children that by working together—just like the Maccabees!— you can make a big difference.

Tip 1: Replace incandescent bulbs with more efficient CFL or LED lighting.

Tip 2: Turn the temperature setting on your refrigerator down. It was designed to work just fine on the lowest dial setting.

Tip 3: Vacuum refrigerator coils once a year. Too much dust makes it work harder.

Tip 4: Change your air filters. Ask kids to keep an eye out and report when an adult needs to change them in the future.

Tip 5: Get a new TV recently? Try turning down the brightness. Most come out of the box optimized for the showroom floor, not a dim living room.

Tip 6: Appoint a different child each week to be the official energy monitor and keep the rest of the family honest!

Tip 7: Send the kids on a spider web hunt. Tiny spiders are drawn to naturally drafty areas to build their cobwebs. If they appear in the same places, it’s a sure sign of an air leak.

Tip 8: Grab a Dreidel and break out the Gelt! Spend a power free evening playing games by candlelight.

Happy Hanukkah!