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Holiday decorating is easy if you've located oulets in all the right places.
By TRACY DeCARLO
SPECIAL TO THE SENTINEL
When you're decorating for the holidays each year, do you find yourself wishing for more outlets - or outlets in different places? It's true. A few outlets placed in handy locations can make a big difference; so keep those wishes in mind when planning the electrical portion of your new home or remodeling project.
Outside. Outlets in the soffit make it easier to string lights along the eaves. If you take this idea one step further and have those outlets wired to a timer switch in the garage, the lights will even turn themsleves on and off.
Thinking about hanging a lighted garland around the front door? Place an oulet nearby. What about wrapping lights around or hanging lighted wreaths on the front pillars? If you include outlets on the back sides of these columns, high up or out of sight, you'll avoid the clutter of extension cords underfoot.
If you like to hang lights around the inside of the back porch, place a couple of outlets close to the ceiling and you won't have cords snking down the wall.
Do you have a deep front yard with various planting beds? To avoid unsightly (and potentially dangerous) extension cords, consider including hidden yard outlets in one or moreof these beds. During the holidays, it will easy to plug in free-standing decorations or tree lighting, and during the rest of the year, these outlets can be used for powering electric yard-maintenance equipment.
Inside. Have you thought about where you plan to place the Christams tree in your new or remodeled home? Include an outlet nearby. Outlets incorporated into and around built-ins also support decorating flexibility.
For example, an outlet installed on top of a built-in cabinet can be wired to a switch, making it convenient to light a small tree placed on top of the cabinet. Including an outlet in the open-shelving portion of the cabinetry allows the homeowner to light holiday decorations during the season and small, cool-burning lamps the rest of the year.
LED the way. Have you had it with trying to figure out which bulb had caused the light string to go out, even though the instructions say this will never happen? Give yourself, your pocketbook, the power company and the environment a break by switching to light-emmiting diode holiday lighting.
LEDs are already well-known in products such as automobile brake lights and traffic signals, and they have been used in holiday lighting for several years. LED string lighting typically will perform without dimming for 30,000 hours. That's eight hours a day for a decade. Can you imagine not having to replace light strings each year?
These lights use pennies on the dollar of electricity compared with traditional holiday lighting. In fact, LEDs are estimated to use 90 percent less electricity than conventional mini-bulbs. In addition, the epoxy of LEDs are virtually indestructible. Yes, these lights are more expensive, but they obviously pay for themselves over and over. And on more benefit: LEDs become barely warm and thus pose no fire hazard from heat generation.
Individual LED light strings are readily available in discount stores, and pre-lit LED Christmas trees are just entering the market.
Tracy DeCarlo is a home-design function analyst and author of 'Don't Forget the Linen Closets!'. She helps homeowners incorporate functional products and features into their building or remodeling projects. For more tips, go to detailedsolutions.net.
By TRACY DeCARLO
SPECIAL TO THE SENTINEL
When you're decorating for the holidays each year, do you find yourself wishing for more outlets - or outlets in different places? It's true. A few outlets placed in handy locations can make a big difference; so keep those wishes in mind when planning the electrical portion of your new home or remodeling project.
Outside. Outlets in the soffit make it easier to string lights along the eaves. If you take this idea one step further and have those outlets wired to a timer switch in the garage, the lights will even turn themsleves on and off.
Thinking about hanging a lighted garland around the front door? Place an oulet nearby. What about wrapping lights around or hanging lighted wreaths on the front pillars? If you include outlets on the back sides of these columns, high up or out of sight, you'll avoid the clutter of extension cords underfoot.
If you like to hang lights around the inside of the back porch, place a couple of outlets close to the ceiling and you won't have cords snking down the wall.
Do you have a deep front yard with various planting beds? To avoid unsightly (and potentially dangerous) extension cords, consider including hidden yard outlets in one or moreof these beds. During the holidays, it will easy to plug in free-standing decorations or tree lighting, and during the rest of the year, these outlets can be used for powering electric yard-maintenance equipment.
Inside. Have you thought about where you plan to place the Christams tree in your new or remodeled home? Include an outlet nearby. Outlets incorporated into and around built-ins also support decorating flexibility.
For example, an outlet installed on top of a built-in cabinet can be wired to a switch, making it convenient to light a small tree placed on top of the cabinet. Including an outlet in the open-shelving portion of the cabinetry allows the homeowner to light holiday decorations during the season and small, cool-burning lamps the rest of the year.
LED the way. Have you had it with trying to figure out which bulb had caused the light string to go out, even though the instructions say this will never happen? Give yourself, your pocketbook, the power company and the environment a break by switching to light-emmiting diode holiday lighting.
LEDs are already well-known in products such as automobile brake lights and traffic signals, and they have been used in holiday lighting for several years. LED string lighting typically will perform without dimming for 30,000 hours. That's eight hours a day for a decade. Can you imagine not having to replace light strings each year?
These lights use pennies on the dollar of electricity compared with traditional holiday lighting. In fact, LEDs are estimated to use 90 percent less electricity than conventional mini-bulbs. In addition, the epoxy of LEDs are virtually indestructible. Yes, these lights are more expensive, but they obviously pay for themselves over and over. And on more benefit: LEDs become barely warm and thus pose no fire hazard from heat generation.
Individual LED light strings are readily available in discount stores, and pre-lit LED Christmas trees are just entering the market.
Tracy DeCarlo is a home-design function analyst and author of 'Don't Forget the Linen Closets!'. She helps homeowners incorporate functional products and features into their building or remodeling projects. For more tips, go to detailedsolutions.net.
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