When it comes to decorating houses and yards for the holidays, some British Columbians feel distinctly Grinch-like when the lights and inflatables get switched on too soon.

A new survey conducted by BC Hydro found that 15 per cent of respondents found it 鈥渁nnoying鈥� when holiday d茅cor went up too early. However, almost a third of those surveyed said it made them feel joyful when Christmas lights and decorations were switched on, no matter when that happened.

What constitutes 鈥渢oo early鈥� is up for debate, and can even cause disagreements within households. Almost half of the respondents said that any time before Remembrance Day is too soon to be switching on the Christmas lights, but one in 10 said there鈥檚 no such thing as too early where holiday decorating is concerned.

More than half of those surveyed said they put up lights and other d茅cor in November. However, Dec. 1 seems to be a popular date for actually switching them on.

When it comes to the type of d茅cor, a mix of both white and coloured lights is the preferred outdoor holiday lighting scheme, and most people tend to put up between three and five strings of lights. However, 10 per cent of respondents identified themselves as 鈥渕ega decorators鈥� who would be putting up more than 10 strands of lights, and seven per cent admitted to blowing a circuit breaker due to plugging in too many decorations at once.

This might be because of the ever-increasing popularity of plug-in inflatable decorations. Almost two-thirds of respondents said they were planning on putting at least one or two inflatables on their lawn this season, which can add to electricity costs if they are run 24/7, as they use a lot more power than a strand of LED bulbs.

Another contributor to higher electricity bills is the use of old incandescent light strings, which were still being used by a quarter of the respondents. Incandescent lighting uses significantly more power and is more expensive to run than LED lights.

BC Hydro has a few tips to help you keep decorating costs down:

- Switch to LED lighting: Save about $40 over the holiday season by switching eight strands of incandescent lights to energy efficient LEDs. LED holiday lights also last 10 times longer and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours.

- Use timers: Reduce electricity costs by only having lights and inflatables on when needed. A timer can help by switching them on only when it鈥檚 dusk and switching them off when it鈥檚 bedtime.

- Use MyHydro: See how holiday decorating impacts electricity consumption by using the electricity tracking tools available on MyHydro, which can be accessed from a mobile device or at .

- Join the team: Join BC Hydro鈥檚 Team Power Smart for free to help make managing and reducing electricity easier. BC Hydro has doubled its Team Power Smart Reduction Challenge reward from $50 to $100 for a second year. Customers who sign up for the challenge from now through Jan. 15, 2025 will be eligible for the reward if they reduce their usage by 10 per cent over the course of a year.