Elaborate Christmas lights - Power Failures

When seeing some of the Elaborate Christmas lights people are putting on their homes, and noticing more people doing this, I'm wondering what precentage of the population would have to decirate to the extreme, before they caused power failures?

I realize this is a vague question, because it depends on the electrical distribution system, pole transformers, and the capacity of the generators. It also depends on the actual amperage of the lights, whereas the older C7 and C9 bulbs consumed a lot more power than the newer LED lights.

But still, there has to be a limit!!! Add to this, the fact that there are a lot more energy consuming devices used in winter, than in warmer weather, such as heat tapes, electric space heaters, furnace blowers, and more use of regular lighting due to short daylight hours.

I also wonder if the power companies have a reserve, to assist times of very high demand?

For example, I know of a house that has so many lights, their house glows almost as bright as daylight (at night). Someone who knows the owner, said he estimated there are around 250,000 bulbs. And a nearby park is decorated every year. It takes over 200 volunteers to put them all up, and they claim they have over 7 million bulbs. I've seen both of them, and they are awesome, but I'm glad I dont have to pay their electric bills.

This park has five sections, all fed by it's own transformer and massive panels. It takes a guy on a golf cart 1/2 hour to drive around and shut everything down at closing time every night. The reason it takes so long, is because they have to flip many individual breakers, because certain lights are left on for security, and they have live reindeers who need lights left on and their water tank heater has to stay on. Plus some of this is computer controlled so the lights "dance" to the music, and that alone takes a lot of time to shut down.

Reply to
Jerry.Tan
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But you don't have the big AC running at the stores in winter and at night, a lot of industry shots down so a good portion is offset. I've heard of brownout, rolling blackouts,and a lot of energy emergencies in summer, never in winter from high demand.

They sure seem to.

IMO, that is just nuts and a waste.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

We just did the big bulbs on our 30 foot Blue Spruce and smaller lights on the bushes along the front of the house, a plastic Santa and a slide projector (larger than most but still not to this level) and my December bill was always larger than my August bill. Can't even begin to think what these guys are paying.

Reply to
Kurt Ullman

Back in the 1980s-90s, I used to do one of the local big mega displays. I always used lower-wattage bulbs and limited the display's on time to three hours/night, and run it only for the month of December. Back in those days, it would cost me $60 extra on my utility bill for the display.

My brother does a super-duper-mega display: all four walls of his house and garage, plus their roofs, plus the gazebo and deck, plus the entire yard full of figures (he has a corner lot), plus his next door neighbor's side yard and garage. He runs it on the same terms: three hours a night, December 1 - January 1. Last year he paid an extra $260 on his utility bill.

Compare that to what folks who live in the South or West pay every month for running their air conditioning 24/7, and you'll realize that a big light display isn't nearly the power draw that air conditioning is. Especially factoring in that a/c is ubiquitous, whereas few people run giant light displays.

Reply to
Moe DeLoughan

That park display is city sponsored and I was told they get a reduction in their power bill, because they raise finds and food for the needy. I once tried to find out sonme actual figures in both dollars and KWH usage, but no one in the office seemed to know. They just told me that they get this reduction. Several years ago, when they had around 5 million lights, they were all the old type lights. In the last 3 years they advertise they have replaced 20% of the lights with LED every year. I believe this year it's almost all LED now, but that dont include the many flood lights, the 60ft tall tower made to look like a tree, with C9 bulbs, and other stuff. But at the same time they keep adding more lights and displays. Some are very extensive, with a fully lighted rotating carosel, towers that have figures go up and down, and lots more. In one way, it's a waste, but it really is quite the thing to see.

Im not sure where the money actually comes from, but it's a put on by the city with lots of sponsors and bgusinesses backing it up.

Reply to
Jerry.Tan

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