WHY

I am often asked why do you spend so much time and effort on the display?  ! have several answers.

1. God has blessed our family so much, this is our opportunity to give back to the community.
2. My Birthday is December 23, I love the Christmas Season.  I get a sense of accomplishment when the lights go on for the first time
3. Through the lights display, we can touch so many lives.  I have received numerous emails where people were touched.  Some just lost loved ones and the display put a smile on their face.  Some tell stories how their family was touched while going through times
4. We collect food and toys for Metro Crest Social Services.  Last year, we collected over 2500 pounds of food and many toys for families in need.  Many of us are only 2 paychecks from losing everything. Many people tell me stories of when Metro Crest provided meals and presents for them in the past.
5. Please remember the past and present members of the military.  Many will not get to Spend Christmas with their families

HOW

I received inspiration from a display in Frisco several years ago to animate the lights to music.  Here is a basic overview on how the display works.

• I use Light o Rama software and hardware to control the lights.  The software allows me to create a sequencing file that controls the lights.  I have 40 boxes in the yard that controls 640 circuits.
• The programming can be overwhelming.  I import a song in the program.  Think about it this way.  You have a large Excel file with 1800 columns – the song is dived in usually 1/10 of a second depending on the major beat.  The file has 640 rows which represent the circuits in the yard.  So, I have a spreadsheet 1800 column by 640 rows.  Then I have to manually go to each cell and tell it what to do- fade up, on, twinkle shimmer, fade down, or off.  If I want a tree to spin, I would say turn circuit 1 on in the fist column, then off, turn 2 on in the second column, then off.  This gives the effect of a tree spinning.  I basic song can take in excess of 60 hours to program.
• I use a wireless system to control the lights in my neighbor’s yard, and I put my boxes and lights and make them dance.  This way I can spread my display into their yards.  I furnish the lights and cords and I complete the setup.
• For the 2009 display, I lost count at 200,000 lights, and approximately 78,000 feet of electrical cord including the light strings.  This is over 14.5 miles of cord.
• I normally purchase all the lights after Christmas.  I get very interesting looks when I purchase 50,000 lights at a time.
• I upgraded my electrical service panel to accommodate the extra power.  Two years ago, my wife and I had a discussion that went like this – “Honey how would you feel it we ate by candlelight every night, and Oh and by the way, you can’t dry clothes, or wash dishes until after 11:00 pm.”  As you can imagine, that conversation did not go well.
• After I upgraded the service, I had 20 20amp GCFI breakers installed.  If you look on the side of my house, you will see the main power source.
• I am an accountant, not a handyman or an engineer.  Everything that I do is trial and error.  Mostly error, but I wade through the problems.

HOW MUCH ELECTRICTY DO YOU USE

Since the lights are very rarely all on, you would be surprised on how little electricity we actually use.  Last year my bill went up $150 for the season.  Compare that to $600 extra in the summer months.  It costs less to run the lights than to use the air conditioner.

The only time we have the lights all on, is to take pictures.  When they are all on, my meter spins three times a second.  It reminds me of the Chevy Chase Scene.

WHY DON’T YOU USE ALL LED

Well there are a couple of reasons

• They are so expensive.  After Christmas, I can purchase a string of lights for $.30 cents a string.  Compare that to $15 per string for a reliable set.
• The Christmas Light technology is new and very unreliable.  Many people use LED lights without a problem, but the vast majority of people experience so issues.  My failure rate for LEDs is higher than mini lights.  Each year, we will purchase more LEDS.
• The colors produced are not quite the same as Minis.  I do enjoys the Blue LEDS.  You will notice them on the trees.
• The energy savings is substantial, but not worth the additional cost of purchasing them.  You will notice that Target offers energy efficient mini, that use 40% lower energy as compared to other stores.  The vast majority of my lights are the energy efficient lights