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Insights > What a Bright Time, It’s the Right Time to Conserve Your Energy for the Holidays
What a Bright Time, It’s the Right Time to Conserve Your Energy for the Holidays
12/15/2021
Save money and conserve energy with inflatables, timers and LED bulbs
One of the biggest demands on the power grid begins each year on Thanksgiving Day as people begin to power up their ovens, put up holiday decorations and turn on scores of additional lights.
There are several ways to celebrate and decorate while conserving energy, such as using inflatables, LED light strings and timers.
Have a Holly Jolly Inflatable
In recent years, outside inflatables have become more popular because they’re attractive from day to night and they don’t require scaling a roof or using a hammer and nails. Inflatables also are relatively easy to set up, take down and require less energy. One large inflatable decoration consumes about 150 watts of energy per hour and would cost about $6 per month if running for 12 hours a day. An inflatable item measuring four feet would use about 50 watts per hour, so operating three of these smaller inflatables would cost about the same as a large one for a month.
Merry and Bright
Traditional string lights use about 10 watts of electricity per bulb, and most strings have a minimum of 25 bulbs. One 25-bulb string light used 12 hours per day would consume about 90 kilowatts over the course of a month and cost just over $10. Multiply that by the number of strings of lights both inside and outside the house, and it quickly adds up to more energy and higher costs. But there are ways to save. Swapping traditional lights for LED light strings can help save energy and money. LED lighting is about 75 % more energy efficient, and because they are cooler to the touch, they are safer.
No matter how you choose to illuminate the season, use a timer to set the hours of usage and deflate your energy costs this holiday season.
Safety First
Safety is always at the top of Entergy New Orleans and Entergy Louisiana’s checklist. Follow these safety tips to keep your holidays merry!
- If you put up lights outside your home, be sure they are specifically marked for outdoor use.
- Never replace a bulb, inside or out, when a string is electrified, as the current used for one incandescent holiday light can stop a beating heart.
- For outside use, work only with three-wire grounded extension cords.
- Use a nonconducting fiberglass or wooden ladder when working with strings of lights and stay clear of all overhead wires.
- Keep connections and lights off the ground by hanging them over wooden stakes.
- Use rubber gaskets in light sockets or hang sockets downward to keep water out.
- Never let light bulbs touch flammable materials such as plastic, dry grass or leaves.
- Turn outdoor and indoor holiday lights off when away from home or asleep in case of fire.
Entergy’s Louisiana companies offer energy efficiency programs to help customers conserve energy and money all year long. For more information or to enroll, visit https://www.entergy.com/energyefficiency/ and select your Entergy energy service provider.
