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Bah Humbug! or, Peppermint Humbug I don't mind if I do, what's your opinion?

barry islandbarry island Posts: 1,748
in The potting shed
I like many others I suspect have been taking steps to save energy mainly for financial reasons but also in the hope that it may contribute in a small way to ensuring the stability of the UK's energy supply over the winter months, however I have noticed that as in years gone past quite a few houses at the top of our road are displaying outside Christmas decoration lights, this made me think is this a reasonable thing to do given the possible weakness of the UK's energy supply? Now I am in favour of people's freedom to do anything that they see fit to do regarding this and would never say that they shouldn't use the electricity that they are paying for in any way that they chose to use it. To make it clear we no doubt will still have a light display indoors as we always do if maybe it is on for a shorter time to save a few watts of power. Do you have any views on this subject will you be cutting down or is this an electrical storm in a teacup?
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  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,322
    I suppose it depends on whether it’s a modest string of LED lights over the door or a full-on strobing santa garden nightmare. I do think the latter are in extremely poor taste anyway, never mind now when the energy waste is just immoral. Concern about the environment and energy security trumps all imo, if that makes me a humbug, so be it.

    I am also a proud humbug when it comes to firework displays, spewing their toxic cocktail of chemicals and particulates into the environment and creating noise levels to strike terror into anything sentient.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,387
    Humbug No. 3 here.  
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,494
    What I would like to know is how many days’ worth of Christmas lights is the equivalent in power terms to one use of the electric shower or one washing load of things that did not need washing? 

    I sit largely in the anti-humbug camp.
    Rutland, England
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,586
    Respec' Bencotto!!! As we are now generating our own leccy,and passing on to the grid, not going to feel a bit guilty about my outside icicle lights and small Christmas tree ones.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 14,350
    I am happy to forgo decorations, and for that matter, showers, to do my bit for the planet. OH however, will not allow either.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,322
    Well my 5min daily shower is gravity fed and the hot water heating system uses a minuscule amount of energy. I would never contemplate washing an article that doesn’t need it and rarely do even when it does 😆 

    To use a hideous word, the ‘optics’ of a pulsating garden grotto are really not good but I would never presume to judge Nanny’s twinkling icicles.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • barry islandbarry island Posts: 1,748
    I do have a pond pump going constantly and calculate that it costs me £100/year I was thinking of turning it off overnight or over the winter but haven't taken any action yet thinking that it might cause more problems than its worth saving £2/week.
  • Balgay.HillBalgay.Hill Posts: 1,004
    As i'm an agnostic/atheist it makes no difference to me.
    Can i now use the argument that Christians are causing damage to our energy supply?  :D
    Sunny Dundee
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 53,942
    "Nanny’s twinkling icicles." 
    Ooh err missus.... :D 

    What is your pump for @barry island? Is it for fish?  I can understand if you need it for that sort of thing. If it's not really needed, you might be able to take it out though.  :)

    I'm somewhere in the middle with the Christmas lights. There are folk round here who clearly don't have a problem with their energy bills all year round, because their houses are like Blackpool illuminations on a regular basis anyway.  :/
    It's the cumulative effect of it all that bothers me though, and why do they need all those lights on from mid November! I'd be sick of the sight of them by mid December. I do often wonder what the cost is though, as @BenCotto says, especially if it's only a small display, and isn't on day and night for 6 weeks. Many lights are battery operated, but you still have to charge those up. I expect a happy medium is the best route   :)

    The flashing multi coloured or worse - those searing blue ones, really affect me.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • barry islandbarry island Posts: 1,748
    @Fairygirl yes i have a few fish remaining after having lost some to predation or illness I don't want to get rid of them but have considered it.
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