Whether you’ve just been gifted a smart speaker or you finally have some time for a few DIY projects around the home, the holiday season is a great time to make your home smarter.

From smart thermostats to keep your heating bills down to holiday lighting that can be both festive and cost effective, here are three smart home tips to help you get through the holidays.

1. Prepare your home if you’re heading out of town.

With remote monitoring and scheduling capabilities, smart home devices are the perfect solution to keep your home safe and secure if you’re travelling this holiday season.

Smart thermostats, for example, are a great starting place for managing your home’s indoor environment from afar. Before you leave, you can set the temperature range to save money while keeping your home safe – and some thermostats even have a “vacation mode”.

There are also many smart monitoring devices that can help keep your home secure. You can use smart lights and shades to make it seem like someone’s home, and smart security systems, cameras, smoke detectors and more offer peace of mind to help you enjoy your vacation.

2. Upgrade your lighting game with smart plugs and LED bulbs.

Whether with your festive holiday lighting or your home’s standard lighting that keeps away the winter blues, there are several easy ways that you can up your lighting game to save energy and improve performance.

For your string lights or yard inflatables, plugging them into a smart plug enables you to have them turn on automatically based on the time of day or follow a set schedule. In addition, if you connect the smart plug to a smart speaker, “you can turn the cheer on and off with a simple voice command.”

In addition to improving control of your holiday lights, you can swap out the regular bulbs around your home with smart LED bulbs that change the whole look of a room by lighting up in festive reds and greens, while also using more than 75 percent less electricity.

3. Gift yourself a smart thermostat for year-round savings.

Smart home devices can also make great gifts for your friends and family, but if you’d like to get something for yourself as well, why not make it something that will benefit you throughout the whole year?

In addition to the remote-control capabilities already discussed, smart thermostats can have major benefits for your home’s total energy use. Some studies suggest that you could save 15 percent or more on your heating and cooling costs, meaning your device will pay for itself in no time.

And these days, you can usually find great deals on smart thermostats – especially if your power company currently offers instant rebates or other discounts – as companies like ecobee and Google Nest have launched much more affordable models than in the past.

The smart home offers many benefits around energy savings, comfort, convenience and more. Start the new year on a positive note by taking on a few smart home projects this holiday season!