Just the FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions)
What does it take to power up the display?
How much does the display add to the electric bill?
How do you turn the display on and off?
How long does it take to set the lights up?
How do you string up the lights on the front trees?
Where do you store all of the lights?
How do you store your light strings to prevent tangling?
How do you test your lights?
How are the reindeer mounted to the roof?
How do you build the wire frame sculptures?
What does it take to power up the display?
This year we had a total of 10-20 Amp circuits and 1-15 Amp circuit dedicated to the Christmas Lights. We brought each circuit out of the garage using 12 gauge extension to a home made distribution box. Each box contained 16 switched socket. The switches allowed us to isolate parts of the display that caused Ground Fault Interrupters to trip out in rainy weather. Actually, we did not use all of the capacity of all of the circuits this year. We should have enough extra capacity to last us anothe year or so before we add more circuits.
How much does the display add to the electric bill?
We estimate that this year's display added about $350.00 to our electric bill.
How do you turn the display on and off?
Each circuit is controlled by an X10 outlet. X10 devices have the ability to receive signals sent over the home wiring. Each device is addressable and responds only to signals sent with that device's address. The outlet contains a control circuit which operates a relay to turn power on and off to the socket. The lights can be turned on manually from consoles located throughout the house (we use X10 devices to control much of the house year round) or by timers. We usually turn the lights off manually after checking the traffic in front of the house. We won't shut off the lights if viewers are present. You can learn more about X10 by checking out one of the following web sites X10 USA or Home Automation Systems
How long does it take to set the lights up?
Actually, it's almost a year round effort. We begin planning by the first of March. Over the summer we build new displays. By October 1st. its time to start testing lights. We start stringing up lights about two weekends before Thanksgiving. We also spend all of Thanksgiving week setting up the lights. (it's a great family vacation.) This year it took a total of 14 days plus a few evenings to finish the job. Taking down the lights is somewhat easier, about 3-4 weekends depending on the weather.
How do you string up the lights on the front trees?
Lights on the two front trees are strung up and down each major branch. the lights are fastened to the branches with twist ties. To reach all of the branches we use three sections of contractor's scaffold. It takes a full weekend just to do both trees. This year we used 2,800 lights on the white tree and 2,200 on the green tree. The lights on these two trees drew about 16 amps of power alone. Yes we do take down all of the lights off the trees after Christmas. There's nothing worse than trying to troubleshot bad strings on the tree the following year. The elements are not kind to lights left up all year.
Where do you store all of the lights?
We floored the attic space over the garage a few years back. most of the lights go there. The manger, and Frosty's tree lot were built so they can be knocked down and stored flat. This year we needed to expand storage into the main attic. A new scuttle hole was cut to gain easy access to this part of the attic. All lights and hardware are stored in uniform sized boxes which stack efficiently between the roof trusses making it easy to store a large amount of lights in a limited area.
How do you store your light strings to prevent tangling?
Each string is wrapped on its own cord caddy. These organize the lights in such a way as to prevent tangling and allow easy testing when it comes time to install them. The lights are wound on the caddy starting with the female connector, ending with the male connector. The cord caddies have been trimmed to fit in standard sized boxes so that they can be stacked more efficiently. Each box holds between 8 and 12 strings depending on number of lights, wire size, etc.
How do you test your lights?
There are a number of good light testers on the market. The tester in the bottom picture typically sells for $5-8.00 and does a very good job of finding problem lights. You plug the light string into an AC outlet and touch the tester to each light, pressing a button. An indicator light (LED) will flash if the bulb is ok, and will stay lit if it is bad. The only negative of this type of tester is that it will not detect bad bulbs metal frame sculptures. the tester in the top picture will find most any bad bulb in a string. The light string is plugged into the tester. When the large red button is pressed, a high voltage, low current surge is sent through the string. This high voltage charge will arc over bad bulbs and light all the good bulbs. This tester is not cheap, but it is worth every penny if you have lots of lights to test. More info can be found at The Christmas Factory
How are the reindeer mounted to the roof?
The reindeer are mounted to the roof with brackets that slip under the roof shingles and are screwed down to the roof. these brackets were patterned after roofer's brackets and allow the reindeer to be securely mounted while maintaining the integrity of the roof surface.
How do you build the wire frame sculptures?
The wire frame sculptures are made from 3/8" steel rod, which is cut and bent into the proper shapes. The various pieces are brazed together using an oxy-acetylene torch, then painted. Lights are attached to the frame with plastic light clips. More details on the circuits that are used to selectively light portions of the sculptures can be found in the Animation section of this web site.
