Holiday Lighting Tips for Safety, Seasonal Brilliance

(FORT WORTH, TEXAS) – To many people, the holiday season is synonymous with bright lights. First Choice Power is offering tips so you can have your light and conserve energy, too.

Size of Bulbs

There are many choices to make among lighting sets. The larger traditional holiday lights — the kind used in night-lights — may use as much as 10 watts per bulb; thus a string of 50 consumes 500 watts. And because one string never seems to be enough, 1,000 watts may be used to show holiday spirit. These larger bulbs are more costly.

These bulbs also generate heat. Think of those two strings as a 1,000-watt space heater. This heat from the individual bulbs can melt things and poses a burn hazard to anyone touching the lights.

Many people choose the mini-bulb sets. These strands are lower wattage, about 25 watts per 50-bulb strand. They are cheaper to operate, too. With much lower operating and purchase costs, the mini-bulbs have become very popular for lighting displays.

Hours of Operation

Rather than turning the lights on when you get home in the evening and then shutting them off in the morning, consider putting the lights on inexpensive outlet timers. That way, you can have the light come on automatically just before you get home — enjoy them as you approach your house — and time them to turn off at 10 p.m. or so.

Safety

When planning your holiday lighting scheme, First Choice Power recommends that you keep these safety tips in mind:

• Be sure the strings of lights you purchase are approved by Underwriters Laboratories. The UL approval means that representative sets of these lights have been tested for safety.
• Only use lights outdoors that are approved for outdoor use.
• Check last year’s strings of lights for broken bulbs, frayed wires, damaged sockets or cracked insulation.
• Unplug tree lights before watering the tree; do keep the tree watered, as hot bulbs may ignite dry branches. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby.
• Be careful with holiday candles. Don’t place lit candles in unsupervised areas where children can play with them. Don’t go to sleep with candles burning.
• Put your tree lights on timers, or be sure to turn them off before retiring for the night.
• Turn on your tree lights only when you are at home.
• Don’t overload circuits. If you are using extension cords, be sure to add up everything on one circuit: tree lights, lamps, appliances, and electrical equipment.
• Make sure extension cords are approved for the specific use, such as indoor and/or outdoor. Do not try to bypass any grounded plugs by removing or rigging the plugs.

First Choice Power wishes all its customers a safe and happy holiday season!

Based in Fort Worth, Texas, First Choice Power is the fourth-largest retail electric provider in the state. First Choice Power is one of four subsidiaries of PNM Resources, an investor-owned energy holding company with $5.8 billion in total assets. For more information, visit FirstChoicePower.com.

 

First Choice Power Special Purpose, L.P. | PUCT REP Certification No. 10008

First Choice Power Media Contact
Catherine K. Carlton (469) 484-8686
Media Relations
First Choice Power

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