Celebrating the season with a colourful display of lights does not necessarily have to mean needlessly wasting energy.
Many of us look forward to seeing brightly decorated homes at this time of year.
Unfortunately, some homes are lit up before the sun even goes down and in some cases remain on when the sun rises the following day.
The whole point of setting up lights and other decorations is for one’s own, as well as others’, enjoyment.
But precisely who is soaking up the scenery throughout the middle of the night between the hours of, for example, around midnight and 5 a.m.?
Probably nobody.
The vast majority of us are sound asleep.
Not only does leaving the lights on while most of us slumber waste energy, but the practice also potentially impacts neighbours’ sleeping patterns, depending on how bright the display is.
I just hope those who leave their lights on nearly all of the time don’t complain about their power bills.
We can all consider sensible options to reduce consumption while still getting into the Christmas spirit.
Among the most obvious is to switch over to LED lights, which consume vastly less electricity than regular lights. The initial higher cost is typically paid off in the long run courtesy of a much lower bill. Fibre optic decorations are also highly efficient — in most cases, a single bulb situated at the unit’s base lights up the entire piece.
Automated timers — for those of us who once sleepy, become forgetful — can also play an important role in ensuring the lights only remain on during periods when other people are likely to actually see and enjoy them. Typically, best practice is to wait until dark or a little after and to turn them off before going to bed. Leaving the lights on for more than six hours is not only excessive as well as unnecessary but also will result in a substantially higher bill.
Other energy reducing options during the holidays include leaving off a room’s lights when the Christmas tree is lit up, as well as slightly turning down the thermostat for big gatherings. We’ve no doubt all experienced a get-together that was uncomfortably warm because of the additional heat generated by all of the bodies. The Christmas sweater in those cases usually comes off quickly.
None of this has to do with being a holiday humbug, but rather simply taking steps to be more conscious of wasteful practices that do little more than burn a bigger-than-necessary hole in our wallets.
We can still get into the spirit of Christmas while taking measures to reduce electricity consumption.
