This year is rapidly drawing to a close, and that means the holiday lighting season is back. Safety is the first priority. Follow these tips:
- Have a ground crew. Recruit one or two volunteers to steady your ladder and pass the decorations up to you. Arrange the decorations before climbing the ladder, so your team can keep you supplied with untangled light strings and fasteners.
- Look for power lines. Remember to keep a safe distance from your overhead electric service. Stay clear of low-hanging electrical wires, especially where they connect to the house.
- Don’t overreach. If you cannot get to a point with your body completely centered between the sides of the ladder, get down and relocate it.
- Don’t overextend the ladder. If your ladder is too short, rent or borrow a longer one. A ladder extended beyond its working limits is dangerous, as is standing on rungs too close to the top.
- Do not overload circuits. Never string more light sets together than the manufacturer recommends. Check the packaging for details.
- Check your wires for breaks. Cracks in the insulation can lead to shorts.
If you haven’t done so already, make this the season you invest in efficient LED holiday lights. Unlike the first versions to hit the market that were characterized by rather harsh and unattractive colors, the newest generation’s colors are reminiscent of the incandescent lights of yore.
Why go the LED route? Longevity and cost of operation are the two key reasons. Unlike incandescent lights, whether the large or mini bulb, LEDs will last for many, many years. LEDs have no filaments to burn out. You can expect LEDs to last seven or more years.
Then there is the lower cost of operation. LEDs sip electricity. A reasonable estimate of power consumption is 7 watts per 100 lights. How does that compare to the old incandescents? Each of those bulbs used 12 watts, so a string of 100 devoured 1,200 watts.
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