My Christmas Lights 2007

Hi Guys,

Orignally posted this in ElectricsUK but thought it would be better off posted here.

Thought I’d share this years display with you all, click the link below and log into the album with the password "mercury". Then click the sub-album on the left you want to view, front, side, back or technical.

http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n26/thomdan/Xmas Lights 2007/My House

A lot less pictures than last year but the display is much the same so nothing much has changed, not even behind the scenes. New additions this year are the LED snowman outside the back door and all the blue LED lights in the back garden are new due to last years all having failed sections, they were returned for a refund and I purchased decent commercial mains voltage connectable ones which are constructed much better than the low voltage ones.

There were lights on the garden wall out the front and the fence at the end of the back garden but both were removed shortly before Christmas due to kids pinching some lamps, I had spares but I wasn’t going to waste them. Both will be replaced with LED lights next year which have fixed lamps.

As always comments good or bad are welcome.

All the best
Dan

Always makes me wonder why I bother buying energy saving lighbulbs, energy efficient appliances and renewable electricity when I see things like this.

amyboo said:

Always makes me wonder why I bother buying energy saving lighbulbs, energy efficient appliances and renewable electricity when I see things like this.

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Totally agree, pointless and wasteful imo. Why do people do this? I'm all for having a good Christmas, but why do people need to be so wasteful (putting my bills up as well) and feel the need to share their bad taste with the rest of the neighbourhood?

Kids probably nicked the bulbs to make a point.

Hi Turpin & Amyboo,

I respect your comments but don’t agree with them at all, I decorate my home for the enjoyment of my family and the children, all of whom love the lights and so do all my neighbours and friends. Its so well liked that if I remove any of the large items for repair or maintenance several people will ask me why its been removed and when will it be back. The display is far from tacky, everything is carefully planned and laid out, and it’s not thrown up in ten minutes.

Also with regards to the environmental issue, whether I have lights or not will not make the slightest difference to climate change. If I didn’t put up lights someone else would. Go and shout at the people who leave theirs on all day and night, or the council for not repairing the street lights that are on 24/7!

Turpin, with regards to your comment about putting up your bill, how exactly am I doing that, I didn’t have my lights plugged into your supply so would you care to explain please! And the only point the kids made by taking the lamps is that they have nothing better to do! CCTV will monitor the display next year and any theft will be reported to the police no matter how small.

I thought I would post these pictures to spread some late Christmas cheer, sadly all I've done is find the scrooges of the forum. I won’t be making the same mistake next year!

A very Baaa Humbug New Year to you!

Regards
Dan

It is of course my personal opinion with the tastefulness of ones Christmas lighting, and If people get enjoyment from it, that is no problem at all.

I didn't mention climate change - that would open far too big a can of worms, but the first thing energy companies cite when putting up my energy prices are 'wholesale prices', someone who uses up surplus by adding to demand through 'additional lighting' directly uses up that surplus, thereby costing me more. If there was less demand on energy, and more to go round, the prices would be lower. Supply / Demand.

As for a 'scrooge', I got a lot of enjoyment from seeing my son (1 yr, 10 months) get a real buzz (in the non-electrocution sense) from seeing our xmas tree lights, and making them change when pressing the control button. He loved Christmas lights, and they went off at bedtime, and on in the morning.

If you put up the very same lights, and told me it was powered by a renewable source, I'd be asking you how you did it so I could learn from you. And, Councils in some areas are actually trialling switching off street lighting at night as well.

I actually don't have any street lighting on my street and it's great - no light pollution at all, night feels like night !

A challenge for you, come back next year with a bigger, better display, raise the money from the display for charity and find a renewable source of energy to do it with and I'll send you a crate of beer.

dannyboi2003 said:

Hi Turpin & Amyboo,

I respect your comments but don’t agree with them at all, I decorate my home for the enjoyment of my family and the children, all of whom love the lights and so do all my neighbours and friends. Its so well liked that if I remove any of the large items for repair or maintenance several people will ask me why its been removed and when will it be back. The display is far from tacky, everything is carefully planned and laid out, and it’s not thrown up in ten minutes.

Also with regards to the environmental issue, whether I have lights or not will not make the slightest difference to climate change. If I didn’t put up lights someone else would. Go and shout at the people who leave theirs on all day and night, or the council for not repairing the street lights that are on 24/7!

Turpin, with regards to your comment about putting up your bill, how exactly am I doing that, I didn’t have my lights plugged into your supply so would you care to explain please! And the only point the kids made by taking the lamps is that they have nothing better to do! CCTV will monitor the display next year and any theft will be reported to the police no matter how small.

I thought I would post these pictures to spread some late Christmas cheer, sadly all I've done is find the scrooges of the forum. I won’t be making the same mistake next year!

A very Baaa Humbug New Year to you!

Regards
Dan

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Ah, that old chestnut. What would the world be like if we all thought like that?

I'm not a scrooge, I just think that Christmas lights like that look grim, and I'm very glad that I don't have to live next door to someone who does that!

Wouldn't let me log in using your password: mercury

luminaire said:

Wouldn't let me log in using your password: mercury

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me neither, we shall now never know the wonders of this thread

I like christmas lights. I think it's wonderful that some private individuals will go through all the trouble and incur all the expense to decorate their houses, thereby creating a beautiful display to be enjoyed by both themselves and any strangers passing by.

Bring on the christmas lights! They're so beautiful!

Well done to those forum members responsible for being so o.t.t. re: energy usage/wastage and stopping me from enjoying looking at all those pretty lights! My dreams were shattered when the password was denied!

Nowt wrong with Christmas lights!!! As for renewable resources though... If anyone comes up with something that is actually usable the world will be a better place! Solar is usless in this country. Wind is impractical unless we turn the whole of Wales into a wind farm, bio-diesel is fine unless we actually want to use that land to grow food.... No ones want nuclear, which may in fact be the best alternative. But whatever happens Mother Earth will be fine - the oil WILL run out we'll have to find alternatives and this whole climate business should sort it self out...

I too feel like I am missing out!
Looking to move to Devon later this year and already fantasising about my first Christmas down there with family & friends invited over to mine for the first time (sad, I know).

Was so disorganised this year, I'm putting together a folder with inspirational ideas and a count-down "do to list" so that I get it just right for Dec 2008.

Shame not to be able to see what a good job you had done.

andyc2000 said:

Nowt wrong with Christmas lights!!! As for renewable resources though... If anyone comes up with something that is actually usable the world will be a better place! Solar is usless in this country. Wind is impractical unless we turn the whole of Wales into a wind farm, bio-diesel is fine unless we actually want to use that land to grow food.... No ones want nuclear, which may in fact be the best alternative. But whatever happens Mother Earth will be fine - the oil WILL run out we'll have to find alternatives and this whole climate business should sort it self out...

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plenty of wind power in the fens, we have 15 x 2 megawatt GERMAN electric company turbines in in immediate view of our village, & another 12 within sight of the 1st lot (around the hill)
..plenty of electric can be provided by wind power! ours are going a good 300 days a year (I estimate) & no band waggoning against them being installed went on, the majority like me think they are serene, ballet like & far better than rubbishy costly art installations! ..every time theres a trip down to learn about them & go inside the list is full!
actually we'd like more & possibly bigger.
diesel engines were actually designed to run on peanut oil! (apparantly)
solar has its uses when you incorporate LEDs so that sensible useage may be matched to sensible demand.
for those who wish to make a start cutting down from regular lightbulbs but want good quality instant light try Philips low energy halogen screw fitting lights 20 watt consumption 60 watts equivilant output VERY handy in conservatories etc (eg we swapped 6 x 100 watt bulbs for 6 low energy halogens) ..now contemplating using a few led floodlights as per other thread.
once you've made the initial leap down from high draw it becomes clearer & easier without bumping your toes in the dark!