Dear Jim: I noticed my electric meter was spinning very fast with all the indoor and outdoor holiday decorations on. With all the after-Christmas bargains, what should I buy and do differently for next year? – Val D.

Dear Val: Holiday decorations are pretty and a lot of fun for the family to set up, but they really can increase your electric bills. Each strand of lights may not use a lot of electricity, but when you actually count how many lights are on, the overall electricity usage may surprise you.

Decorating efficiently makes sense. All this extra electricity used comes from burning coal, oil, etc. in utility plants. This uses up our energy resources and creates additional pollution and greenhouse gases, which your children are going to have to deal with for the rest of their lives.

There are some newer types of energy-efficient lights that are very attractive. Plug-in or battery-operate LED (light emitting diode) strands of lights are very energy-efficient. You can use two rechargeable batteries for a strand of 20 bulbs. The LED bulbs last for more than 10,000 hours.

Another efficient option is rope lighting, which you plug in. It is usually available in 18- and 24-foot lengths and sections can be connected to more than 100 feet. There is an efficient minibulb every inch inside the clear or colored rope and each foot length of lighted rope uses only three watts.

If you are using the large older standard bulbs, replace them with midget bulbs. These are small tubular-looking bulbs and use less electricity than standard bulbs (20 watts for a 35-bulb strand compared to 5 watts for one large bulb). They also produce less heat, so they are safer to use.

Each midget bulb produces less brightness than the larger bulbs, but with so many on a strand, the overall decorative effective can be much greater. This is especially true if you use ornaments with reflective surfaces.

Replace a midget bulb in a strand when one burns out, even if the others stay lit. If you don’t, the life of all the bulbs may be shortened. Bulbs are different depending on how many are in the strand. You can usually divide 120 by the number of bulbs to determine the proper bulb voltage.

Making reflective ornaments and decorations yourself can save money and enhance the decorative effective with fewer lights on. Mini-needlepoint kits are available which use metallic threads. They are attractive on their own and even more so when hanging on a tree with colored lights nearby.

Some do-it-yourself efficient ornaments use old CDs with holographic paper glued on them. Others uses colored tissue paper to simulate stained glass.

Dear Jim: I am normally gone from my house at work for about 10 hours and no hot water is used. Does it make sense to set the electric water heater temperature lower when I am gone during the day? – Sandy J.

Dear Sandy: It probably would result in a reasonable savings if you did lower the water heater thermostat or set it lower during the day. Installing a timer on it is the most convenient method to control the temperature.

If it is a fairly new water heater, it will be well insulated and the water will stay warm enough to wash dishes or your hands. You can set the temperature back up at night before you shower or for morning showers.

Write for (instantly download – www.dulley.com) Update Bulletin No. 471 – list of sources for efficient lighting products and reflective decorations, instructions for making several reflective ornament designs, and efficient holiday decorating tips. Include $3 and a business-size SASE, and send to James Dulley, 6906 Royalgreen Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45244.