Every year I am astonished to see Christmas decor going on sale in early September at the 'big box stores'. This year, though, it served as a reminder to post a bit about how we can all save some energy this Halloween.Halloween has become the second largest holiday in the USA in terms of merchandising and decor. Every year I see more and more elaborate decorations, ranging from giant inflatables in front yards, to motion sensing skeletons, to plain old lighting.
If you're considering lighting, be aware that you can CFL bulbs in the color orange. I often place colored lights in my outdoor fixtures for a few weeks around the holidays, and this is a way to save a bit of money as compared to traditional incandescents.
At first I was skeptical of buying a CFL for short duration usage like a few weeks around Halloween, however the payback calculator showed that the bulb would pay for itself in 53 days at my 12.5 cent per KwH rate, given 47 watts savings over an incandescent. That means that in just two Halloween seasons and it will have paid for itself.
Of course there are the more exotic lights that you can get in energy efficient LED format, such as these innovative LED pumpkin lights on a string. And with LED technology, they can easily run on battery, allowing them to be placed almost anywhere without running extension cords. And there are even "traditional" holiday lights in orange> using LED technology.
If you are using an inflatable in your yard, you may want to consider running it on a timer. Between the illumination and the fans that inflate them, in many cases you can average 200 watts of consumption. If you use a timer to turn it off for 8 hours a day (late night/early morning, for example), you can save $4 to $6 over a 4 week period. This basic Intermatic grounded timer only costs around $5, so it will quickly pay for itself.
If any readers have other suggested ways to save energy and money with your Halloween decor, please post a comment.
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