News Release
Dec. 5, 2002
Holiday Lighting Tips for Safety and Seasonal
Brilliance
Albuquerque: To many people, the holiday season is
synonymous with bright lights. PNM 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 up to 10 watts per bulb, so a string of 50 consumes 500
watts. And because one string never seems to be enough, you
will probably be using 1,000 watts or more to show your holiday
spirit. The larger bulbs are more costly. If the lights were
turned on just four hours a night for 30 nights, the cost
would be $10.80.
These bulbs also generate heat. Just 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 newer mini-bulb sets. These sets use
between 18 to 25 watts per string, regardless of the number
of lights on the string. They are cheaper to operate, too.
Two strings of mini-lights would use just 50 watts and cost
27 cents for two strings displayed for four hours over 30
nights. 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—you can 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, PNM 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; and 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. Circuits in older homes
can carry about 1,800 watts, while those in new homes may
be able to handle 2,400 watts. 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.
PNM wishes all its customers a safe and happy holiday season!
PNM is the principal subsidiary of PNM
Resources, an energy holding company based in Albuquerque.
PNM provides natural gas service to 441,000 gas customers
and electric utility service to 378,000 customers in New Mexico.
The company also sells power on the wholesale market in the
Western U.S. PNM Resources stock is traded primarily on the
NYSE under the symbol PNM.
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