christmas lights

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tuffy

well-known member
Joined
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Location
kirksville missouri
how many of you all decorate out side with Christmas lights and stuff? do you think it raises your electric bill much ?
 
Not since I converted all my lights to LED. I can run all lights (14 sets) on one outlet, and don't notice any jump with my electric bill.
 
Scrooge/Tuffy -

So when does the cost of electricity have an effect on the decision made once a year?

Dick
 
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We do Christmas lights and if keeping 400 gallons of water heated to 103 year round outside doesn’t break the bank a few 100 tiny light bulbs wont. The hot tub costs about a dollar a day and the lights about 1 cent.
 
Just use a couple of strings of white Christmas lights all year on the shrubs beside my walk way for a low light way to see when I get home. They are LED's.
 
Scrooge/Tuffy -

So when does the cost of electricity have an effectn the decision made once a year?

Dick
It's not me it's the wife wont let lights go up because of the cost I was simply trying to show here that it doesn't run your light bill up.
 
It's not me it's the wife wont let lights go up because of the cost I was simply trying to show here that it doesn't run your light bill up.

Oh the solution to this is easy, and DIY related in fact. Get two 10’ lengths of pipe and bury them 3’ in the ground about 40’ apart out in the back yard. Then tie a small rope between them. After that go in the house and remove the fuses to the cloths dryer. Sit back and wait. When she tells you the dryer doesn’t work you just tell her you installed a solar powered dryer and it will save so much electricity. :)
 
Oh the solution to this is easy, and DIY related in fact. Get two 10’ lengths of pipe and bury them 3’ in the ground about 40’ apart out in the back yard. Then tie a small rope between them. After that go in the house and remove the fuses to the cloths dryer. Sit back and wait. When she tells you the dryer doesn’t work you just tell her you installed a solar powered dryer and it will save so much electricity. :)
LOL I've all ready have one of those , just need to switch the breaker off.
 
LOL I've all ready have one of those , just need to switch the breaker off.

There you go. Now that you have a plan we expect to see you next year on that TV show Great Christmas Light Fight.

Here is one for inspiration.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnL0_CsXncI[/ame]
 
Well got the wife talked into putting up the Christmas lights and inflatables, mainly for the grandkids but the Grinch still isn't happy with it!!!!!!!
 
tuffy -

The answer is "BAH HUMBUG!!"

When the kids like it and the neighbors do not complain, the warm feeling when you drive home is a big factor.

Neighbors may complain about the light and traffic and glare, but they may either turn off all lights or add some for the next year.

Grand kids have a strong voice until you ask them to help stringing and untangling everything during the installation "AND" the stripping/packing and storage. - get them involved!!

Dick
 
I've got a few neighbors who go in for the "Christmas Vacation" lightshow. It doesn't bother me but I wouldn't want it on my house/lawn. It would make me annoyed driving home to that!

I like my Christmas decorations to be discovered, not announced. You walk up to my front door, and in the little side window by the door you can see across the hallway and into the living room, where we have a nice brightly lit tree. From the right angle you can see it from across the street---it just doesn't reach out and grab you by the throat.
 
It's not me it's the wife wont let lights go up because of the cost I was simply trying to show here that it doesn't run your light bill up.

Did you ever get the OK to run the lights?

This is the setup that I made back in 2016. I built the controllers and transmitters, I used over 2000 feet extension cord, and ran out of time to make all the lights straight. It's not bad for a first years go at it but nowhere in comparison to those who you usually see on YouTube. Everybody starts somewhere though and as I found out, when you want to build it yourself, there are a lot of bugs that need to get ironed out before it works well. I fixed it up a bunch more in 2017 but never did take a video, 2028 they are up but operating mostly static because time fell short with other priorities (new daughter was born)

The electricity jumps about $100, but that's with running over 1200watts all day and night, broadcasting radio, and running a show computer. If I stuck to using only LED then I wouldn't ever notice it in the electric bill.

 
I didn’t even get a picture of the flood lights on the front of the house with the new porch rails. We haven’t had any snow. New years eve at midnight it was 55 degrees out and we were standing bare foot on the deck watching the kids play in the hot tub set to 100. Normally we have snow up to our waist by now.


The lights just don’t look right without the snow.
:(
 
I like my Christmas decorations to be discovered, not announced. You walk up to my front door, and in the little side window by the door you cIome an see across the hallway and into the living room, where we have a nice brightly lit tree. From the right angle you can see it from across the street---it just doesn't reach out and grab you by the throat.
I like the subtle approach, to me it conveys a warm home feeling (with a touch of nostalgia) that bright lights don't achieve .
 

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