By Corey Ohlenkamp —
Fort Wayne, Indiana — Holiday season decorations are a great way to spread cheers, but they can make the cost and dangerous times of the year even more expensive and dangerous. Indiana Michigan Power (I & M) provides our customers with energy efficient holiday decoration ideas and safety precautions to embrace the holiday spirit.
According to the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), in 1882 Thomas Edison, who invented the incandescent light bulb, showed reporters a string of lamps around a holiday tree at his home in New Jersey. Since then, lamps have helped customers celebrate their holidays. Fast-forwarding towards today makes our technology more energy efficient, but it still needs to be safe.
“Indiana Michigan Power is dedicated to making holidays bright, efficient and safe,” said Heather Riggle, Energy Efficiency Housing Account Manager at I & M. “When using a row of lights or going out like Clark Griswold in the movie’Christmas Vacation’, it’s always important to check the safety procedures if the decoration is part of the holiday tradition. .. Customers can create great displays and decorations while being environmentally friendly and safe. We hope that all of the more than 500,000 customers we serve will have a safe and happy holiday season. “
Here are some tips on how you can save energy, stay safe, and decorate your holidays.
Deck holes and save energy.
Lights hung on trees and roofs are a great way to make your home or business shine during the holiday season. You can use these energy efficient ideas to decorate and save money.
- Customers can buy LEDs and strand lights to decorate and save energy. ENERGY STAR® certified LED lights use 90% less energy than traditional bulbs. So the cost of illuminating a typical tree with an LED is about $ 1 per season. LED lights generate less heat, are cool to the touch, and last up to 10 years. It’s much cooler than incandescent lamps, so it’s bright, environmentally friendly, and safe. LED frameless candles are a safe and energy efficient alternative to candles.
- Customers can use the passlights provided in the festive design to welcome people to their homes or businesses. Line up LED lights on the sidewalk to save money and ensure everyone’s safety when entering.
- It can be decorated without using electricity. Place decorations in glass jars for table decoration, place adinsels and bows to give them a shine, and place figurines on the surface of offices such as desks, shelves, and countertops.
- Customers can use green for garlands, indoor or outdoor garlands, and flower arrangements. Whether real or fake, green does not use energy. Add more touch by adding LED lights and a festive ribbon.
- Customers can use smart power strips to enclose extra cords. These strips detect when the device is turned off or not in use and automatically shut it off. Visit Electricideas.com to compare energy efficiency ratings and save on the cost of smart power strips.
- Customers should consider using automatic timers. These turn off the lights when you leave your home or office.
Visit www.electricideas.com for over 100 energy efficiency tips, rebates, and energy efficiency initiatives.
12 Safety Tips
Having a happy holiday season with friends, family and loved ones means having a safe holiday. Follow the top 12 I & M safety tips before decorating.
- Before installing the light, check the old and new sets for socket damage, loose connections, frayed or exposed wires. Discard or repair the damaged set before use.
- Do not use more than three standard size light sets per extension cord.
- Connect an external light to an earth-leakage circuit (GFI) outlet. If your home does not have an external GFI outlet, contact your electrician to install it.
- Do not pass electrical cords through door or window openings that can be damaged.
- Before climbing the ladder, make sure the ladder is functioning properly and follow the weight limits specified in the ladder and manufacturer’s instructions.
- Do not use ladders on or near power lines or poles.
- Before decorating, determine the number and location of outlets available. Plan your display accordingly so that no one trips over your code.
- Do not overload outlets with too many decorations or electrical cords. It may overheat and cause a fire.
- Do not connect the light while adjusting the light on the tree. When replacing the bulb, unplug the light.
- Keep the bulbs out of contact with flammable substances such as needles, branches and other ornaments.
- Make sure your home smoke detector is working properly.
- Warn children not to touch wooden lights or electric toys with wet hands.
For more safety tips, please visit www.IndianaMichiganPower.com/safety.
About Indiana Michigan Power
Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana Michigan Power (I & M) employs approximately 2,100 people and serves more than 600,000 customers. More than 85% of the energy supplied in 2020 was non-emission. I & M has a variety of power sources, including 2,278 MW of nuclear power in Michigan, 450 MW of wind purchased from India, more than 22 MW of hydropower in both states, and nearly 35 MW of large-scale solar power in both states. Is available. , And 2,620 MW of coal-fueled power generation in Indiana.
news
