It’s just a little button on the remote control that provides the gross christmas special effect. Within a few seconds, the two-meter-large, glowing white snowman comes to life. From its location on the roof, it has a wonderful view of the city, where nils and charlene gareis have created their own little christmas house with "frosti" and another 2000 led lights. The electrical specialist put a lot of hours and nerves into the lighting – after all, there’s a lot to consider in this kind of facade design.
Sebastian seynstahl, deputy head of the wurzburg/schweinfurt electrical guild, says the following about fairy lights: "if you buy cheap, you buy twice."Any layman without a technical background can see at the first visual inspection whether the workmanship and the materials used are suitable. Cables should be properly crimped and have no openings, cracks or broken sockets. The GS seal and the CE marking are safe indications that the quality is correct and the corresponding safety is guaranteed. If there are children or animals in the household, the expert recommends a chain of protection class three. " this means that the voltage flowing on the cables is so low that nothing can happen to humans or animals in the event of a contact."In addition, the light chain should be IP44-protected, i.E. Protected from moisture, and the cable in front of the first light point should be two meters long. "Then you have enough space to the socket."
For sebastian seynstahl, safety is the central issue in one way or another. "You should not run the chain unattended", warns the expert. "I know of a case where the occupants of the house went to church on christmas eve and when they came home, the fire department was already on its way: the chain of lights in the manger had ignited."In case of emergency, it is helpful to know where the chain comes from.
"We should rather think about the conversion to eco-electricity." sebastian seystahl, energy consultant
The instructions should be in german and the manufacturer should be listed with address and contact hotline. "This way i know who i can prosecute if there is a fire."As a general rule, a socket circuit should be loaded with a maximum of 3000 watts and a maximum of one multiple socket. Then the lines will not be overloaded.
With regard to power consumption, sebastian seynstahl largely gives the all-clear: in the age of leds, there’s not too much to consider anymore. Markus ruckdeschel sees things a little differently. He works for the upper franconia energy consultancy, which also offers consultation days at the district office in kitzingen, and explains: "of course, a lot has been done in terms of efficiency with the christmas lights, too."He talks of energy savings of 70 to 90 percent compared with the classic incandescent bulb – although he suspects that not all households had switched over completely by a long time.
In addition, the so-called rebound effect comes into play. "Where there used to be twelve lights on the tree or 20 on the window, there are now twice as many, and more. So we chase the collected efficiency directly through the chimney."Nevertheless, he does not want to spoil the joy of the christmas lights. "It is certainly not our most pressing problem when it comes to climate protection," says the energy expert, who also has an alternative tip directly at hand. "We should rather think about the changeover to eco-electricity". Here everyone can contribute his part and lower its CO2-ausstob with the energy consumption toward zero."
Nils gareis has decorated his little christmas house almost exclusively with strings of led lights. Only in front of the house, on the old grape press, hangs an old-fashioned candle chain. "It was enough for me," says charlene. In recent years, it has been used mainly for the community mulled wine get-together organized by its neighbor in november. This year it had to be cancelled – like all the other christmas markets – and so the gareis couple decided to set up their own little christmas house in their backyard (and beyond). The electronics expert was fully in his element, climbing gables and dormers, usually only secured by the firm grip of his wife. "It has definitely cost me a lot of nerves," she says. "But it was worth it."
The historic house with its adjoining building is now lit up in the most beautiful colors every evening from 5 p.M. Onwards. "If nothing is allowed to take place, we just have to do it ourselves," says husband nils. As ordered, daughter juliana comes out of the house with children’s punch and heiben maronen in her hand. "I’m really in the mood for christmas," says the ten-year-old. "Now only the little places are missing." so while the oven in the gareis house was allowed to run at full speed over the next few days, the flashing and waving function of the fairy lights remained at rest. "They’re more like a carnival," says charlene. To mark the occasion, the family wants to light up their house once again in february before the chains are taken down. "Frosti" will have finally run out of air by then. But if nils gareis has his way, it will be brought back to life in the run-up to christmas in 2021. With the push of a button on the remote control – and maybe a few thousand lights more.
