jeffandnicole Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 (edited) Was it also noted that when people say the show runs for 5 hours (or whatever) a night, unless your display is static those lights aren't on for 5 hours (Oh, I see it was mentioned just above this post! LOL). Depending on the display and how you use those lights, the lights may be on for less than that. The purchasing of lights is basically a fixed cost. The electric consumption varies based on how you use those lights. I held onto incandescents longer than most here because of the upfront costs vs. electric savings. Based on what I had purchased in the past, my attic was pretty well stockpiled with incandescents so I figured there was no reason to convert. Looking at my display last year, I could notice quite a difference in my display vs. others in the area. The blues & greens were fading. The reds were turning purple. My stockpile was dwindling. I decided to make the jump, so after Christmas I bought what I could in LEDs. This year, I added what I needed in order to run a decent display. Even then, due to the brightness of the LEDs, I used fewer lights than I did before in the equivalent areas but still got the same effect. After Christmas this year, I bought even more LEDs. I do agree with Archer that the cost savings isn't dramatic, especially when it comes to the upfront cost of buying the lights. The cost is dramatic when you're talking about the electric used to light up tens or hundreds of thousands of lights, but again, the upfront costs can't be totally ignored. Feel free to tell everyone your display cost $500 less this year compared to last year to run, but I'm sure you won't be as willing to discuss how much those lights cost in order to get to that point. It's similar to playing the lottery: People are happy to say they won $500, or hit the Pick 3. They're not going to tell you what they spend on a daily basis to get to that win. (If you won the Mega jackpot, this example probably doesn't apply!) For me though, the big savings was in the amount of electric used. Pretty much the same display as last year, but my total amperage dropped 50%! Since due to the available outlets and house amperage I could never have had the entire display light 100% in the past, this allowed me to have more lights on at the same time. BTW, just for kicks, I'll answer the original question as well. My December bill compared to November's bill....$9 LESS!!! Can't beat that!!! A warmer December and taking a vacation which we normally wouldn't have done in the month contributed to using less electric also! Edited January 15, 2015 by jeffandnicole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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