Saving: Tips for saving energy and money

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- If you were lucky enough to get the gift of electronics over the holidays, you may soon get hit with a nasty surprise.

You may have a higher than normal power bill, but fortunately doing a few simple things can save you money.

Today's TVs, computers, video game consoles, and other devices can really drain your electricity, but the folks at the Natural Resources Defense Council have a few simple changes that can save energy and money.

New or old big screen TV:

-In the picture set-up menu, choose the "home" or "standard" screen setting.

-The "vivid" or "retail" settings are unnecessarily bright for most homes and burn up to 20% more energy.

- Also disable the "quick start" function - That eats up a lot of unnecessary power, too.

-Did you know set-top cable and satellite boxes run at near full power even when they're OFF? So unplug the set-top boxes connected to TVs you rarely use.

- Ask your cable or satellite provider for a box that meets at least Energy Star version 4.1.

- If you have boxes for multiple TVs, ask for a whole-home DVR for your primary TV and something that sucks less energy for the others.

Streaming movies:

- Avoid doing so through game consoles like PlayStation or Xbox. They use 10 to 20 times more energy than smaller devices like Roku, Chomecast, or Apple TV.

- Even better, stream a movie through Netflix directly.

Gaming Consoles:

-Shut them off or adjust the settings so they go to sleep as soon as possible when they're not in use.

Computers:

- Shut down or place in sleep mode when not in use.