The world glows with colorful lights during one time of the year. It’s Christmas! Christmas lights glisten and sparkle from every window, doorway, and Christmas tree. The white and sometimes colorful glow of Christmas lights not only lights up the celebrants homes, but also ignites the Christmas spirit in all of us.
People have lit their Christmas trees since the 17th century. In the past, families attached candles to the ends of the branches. Given the fire risk involved with using lit candles, we now use beautiful strings of incandescent bulbs. With these come high electric bills and winter safety precautions. But, this Christmas why not light up your holidays safely and economically. Below are a few ideas to keep your holiday decorating cost efficient and safe.
Be Prepared
Turn off all light when you leave your home or when you go to bed. This will help you save on holiday spending and will also prevent a fire. Speaking of which, be fire safe. Have a fire extinguisher and smoke detectors in your home. Make sure your family has a plan in case there were a fire.
Save Some Money
When finding other ways to save during the holidays consider LED lights. They use 33% less power, saving you up to $10 for every 300 hours lit, last significantly longer than incandescent bulbs and, while they don’t burn brighter, they burn cooler than incandescent bulbs which is a bonus to reduce the chance of Christmas tree fires.
Decorating Inside the House
Keep these simple holiday safety precautions in mind while decorating inside your Addison apartment.
- If you have to use an extension cord, be sure not to overload it or the electrical outlet. Do not use more than three sets of lights per cord.
- Do not to run the cords under rugs or near appliances where they can overheat and cause a fire.
- Keep extension cords away from where you water your tree.
- Also examine the extension cords and lights every year and discard any that have frayed cords. If you need to replace a bulb, be sure to unplug the string of lights. Replace the bulb with one of the same voltage and wattage as the original.
- Don’t place cords where they can be pulled down or tripped over. If you must temporarily run an electrical cord across a floor, make sure it is secured with tape to prevent tripping.
- If you use candles to add a holiday glow and a lovely scent, don’t leave them unattended. Be sure they are out before you go to bed or leave the house.
Outdoor Decorating with Lights
Keep these Christmas decorating tips in mind when using lights outside of your home.
- Make sure power is off when stringing outdoor lights.
- All outdoor lights must be marked for outdoor use only. Be sure to keep the light plugs above ground and out of water.
- Examine trees you intend to string lights on. Make sure no limbs have grown into or near power lines. This can lead to electrical sock.
- When stringing lights, make sure ladders are safe and secure before climbing on them.
- And finally, use extension cords only when necessary.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 0 comments… add one now }