Welcome to the Dead River Company blog!

December is officially here! There’s a lot to love about the holiday season, and while you may be tired from the hustle and bustle of baking, shopping and wrapping, you can’t deny the joy you’ll feel when someone you love opens your gift and their eyes light up. The season is all about the joy of giving to others, so why not give the gift of energy savings?

We’re experts on saving energy so, to help you out, we’ve put together our 2014 Energy Savings Holiday Gift Guide. Any of our energy saving experts would love to receive these cool gadgets. Maybe someone on your list would love them too!

Stocking stuffers

• Advanced Power Strips (Starting at $29.95; tricklestar.com) This may be the last thing your loved one would expect in their stocking. But, surprise! The technology now available in advanced power strips will really impress them. The strips now come with motion sensor technology so that devices are turned off when you’re not using them and the same devices can’t continue to draw power even after they’ve been turned off.

• Phillips Hue LEDs (Starting at $59.97; meethue.com) You’ve probably heard how much you can save by switching to LED lights in your home. So why not get your kids excited about energy savings in their room by stuffing their stockings with the HUE LED connected bulb? With these bulbs, they can control the lighting from their smartphones and can even get creative with colorful and fun lighting schemes.

For the new homeowner in your life

• Evolve Shower Head (Starting at $29.95; evolveshowerheads.com) We’re all guilty of it. On those cold Northern New England winter mornings, you wake up and turn the shower on. While you wait for the water to warm up, you use the time to get several other daily chores accomplished. And you’re wasting energy. The Showerstart technology flushes out the cold water and, when the water reaches the desired warm temperature, slows the flow of water to a trickle alerting you that your shower is ready and conserving water and energy while you finish your chores.

• Refuel Propane Gauge by Quirky (About $50; quirky.com) There’s nothing worse than running out of propane on the 4th of July with the steaks staring back at you, raw, on the grill. The perfect gift for any new homeowner who intends to enjoy their propane grill, this gauge will tell you how much fuel is left in the tank. Position your grill in range of a Wi-Fi network, and you can monitor your propane supply from anywhere using your smartphone and receive alerts when your tank is running ou

Splurge-worthy

• Lyric Thermostat by Honeywell (About $275; lyric.honeywell.com) This amazing little device uses Geofencing technology and your smartphone to automatically adjust the thermostat to your unique lifestyle saving you energy every day. No more programming. And that’s just the beginning! It also doesn’t hurt that it’s one of the first thermostats a girl might actually think looks attractive on her wall. This is the must-give, splurge-worthy, energy savings gift of the 2014 holiday season.

• FLIR One Infrared iPhone Case by FLIR (About $350; flir.com)
  One of the best energy saving tactics recommended by the experts at Dead River Company is to seal any cracks and leaks and insulate your home from energy loss. With this gift, friends and family can attach this thermal imaging device as a case on their iPhone 5 or 5s, and instantly see indicators of air and water leaks, missing insulation, buried pipes, even termite infestations.