The Netherlands plans to put Christmas lights on for less time than usual this year to conserve energy. 💡
The lights are one of the main things that make the yuletide season so special.
However, as woners continue to suffer from sky-high bills, the government has no choice but to make some sacrifices in order to cut energy costs.
Dark times call for…fewer lights
As the colder months approach, it’s almost time to bring out those dusty festive decorations from the basement. 🎄
Though, people in the Netherlands will need to get used to having less time to admire Christmas lights in their cities this year.
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In Groningen, the lights will turn on from 3 PM to 9 PM rather than the usual, 1 PM to 12 AM, and this will be the case for most cities in the lowlands.
The Dutch city of Deventer will also see its light time halved, and they’ll hold off decorating 120 trees and facades. As a result, they’ll be able to save a third of the energy consumption.
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“In the winter, we will have 160,000 people in the centre who are confronted with a bill of hundreds of euros at home. We want to avoid moments of irritation, which are very understandable”, centre manager of Deventer, Peter Brouwer, tells the NOS.
Nijmegen will turn its lights on for 11 weeks instead of 13 weeks and for only six hours a day instead of the usual eight — saving more than 35% of energy! ⚡
Experimenting with LED lights
Many business associations are also looking to switch to LED lighting to save on energy costs.
“It has been a topic of discussion, but LED does not have a huge impact on electricity costs,” Maarten Mulder, city centre manager of Nijmegen, tells the NOS.
Christmas lights are here to stay
One of the main reasons why Christmas lights aren’t being turned off altogether is because businesses actually rely on them to make their shops attractive to customers during the cold season.
“If a street doesn’t look good, people don’t go shopping there either. The cosiness is also in self-interest”, Maarten Hajer, professor of Urban Futures at Utrecht University, tells the NOS.
READ MORE | How Dutch people get rid of their Christmas trees
That being said, we can rest assured knowing that, even though the lights will burn for fewer hours, they’ll be around for that cosy winter feeling. ❄️
What do you think about the Dutch’s initiative to decrease the use of Christmas lights this year? Tell us in the comments below! 👇