Have you set up your holiday lights yet? With this dreary autumn (and year!), T set ours up a couple weeks ago. Simple, but warm and happy to drive up to. :)
One of the cool things about being married to an electrician is we have all the gadgets; a super easy way to make holiday lighting both more convenient and energy-saving is to use a light timer. Check out our exterior version below. There are dozens of models, many ranging $15-20. Most have additional outlets, so you gain more than the outlet you plug the timer into. This model is extremely simple with one button: it powers on at dusk, and the button sets how many hours you want to leave it on. For example, our Christmas lights come on every night at dusk and shut off 4 hours later.
There's no more needing to turn them on or forgetting to turn them off. Further, there is a benefit to the neighborhood critters! Did you know that light pollution interferes with nocturnal animals? Putting your exterior lights on a timer will ensure your house isn't contributing to late night light pollution.
Now, you don't just need to save this trick for holiday or exterior lights. You can use a timer for your Christmas tree or regular lights year round! We have this small device plugged into our living room lamps. Instead of turning on at dusk, it has a few more options, and we set the specific hours it turns on.
For the interior timer, not only does it help us save electricity by making sure we turn off the lights in the living room when we go to bed, but it also has a security side benefit, by having the lights on for a few hours in the evening when we're out of town.
Cost savings will depend on usage, types of bulbs you use, etc, but timers will usually pay for themselves in the first year. Stay tuned for 11 more days of holiday tips!
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