Holiday Lighting Bill

If outdoor holiday lighting shocks your energy budget, the electric utility newsletter suggests you use LEDs and a light timer. Indeed, those two practices are a fine start. LEDs consume less energy than traditional strings of lights, and timers eliminate waste during the many hours when few people would see the display.

However, five principles of responsible outdoor lighting offer additional practices to lessen the consumption and cost of superfluous energy. When stringing outdoor lights, ensure they are useful, targeted, low-level, controlled, and warm. In the end it will yield a more tasteful and less garish display that enraptures rather than annoys. In the spirit of the holidays, less is often more.

By the way, lighting up an entire block does not make you the envy of the neighborhood, and no, they do not "look great," as suggested by the utility company newsletter. I share the sentiment of the neighbor illustrated on the far left with the red shirt.