Save Energy This Holiday Season on LED Lights

Ah, the holidays. Happy memories of going light by light, pulling the old one out, putting a new one in, hoping to find the one bulb that prevents the entire strand from being festive and bright.

And then there is the environmentalist in me that admonishes myself for even bothering to put up the lights in the first place. I put up maybe a couple of strands of tasteful white lights, just to pull myself out of the doldrums of anticipating another cold Chicago winter. And still, I worry about the wasteful nature of the Holiday season, and as lighting uses up almost a quarter of all electricity generated in the US, I can't help but feel a little guilty about my consumption.

I have already switched over all the light bulbs in my house to the energy-efficient Compact Fluorescents Lamps (CFLs) that are on every environmentalist's things-to-have list. I have all electronic equipment on power strips so I can easily turn out the things that, even when off, can still use a small amount of electricity. So how can I assuage my guilt over Holiday lights?

Light Emitting Diodes.

LED lights are a Holiday lighting fan's best friend. They burn brighter, come in all colors, they don't get hot and scare parents about the kids getting too close, and they have no toxic substances involved. Furthermore, they are more durable that the incandescent lights of seasons past.

LEDs use one-tenth the amount of electricity of the "normal" incandescent lights. The large incandescent lights used during the holidays actually use more than 160 times the amount of energy of their LED counterparts. The LEDs also last a very long time. The average life span if LED lights are 50,000 for outdoor lights and 100,000 hours for the indoor varieties. Some companies offer lifetime warranties on their lights.

LED technology has improved over the last few years, so if you are afraid of the weird blueness that has been associated with LED lights in the past, check them out now. Many companies have worked on the lights to give them warmer hues.

LEDs are shatterproof as well, so even if the kids decide to try to take a hammer to the lights, they can't do much harm or shock themselves in the process. If the outdoor lights freeze over, the LEDs will not be affected or break. They will physically last for years and years.

If the length of use doesn't convince you to start switching over to LEDs, maybe this will. The cost of running 300 mini-incandescent lights for 5 hours a day for 45 days is about five dollars. The same LEDs lights will cost you fifty cents.

Sure, there are other efficient light options available, from CFLs to halogens, and you should do a bit of research to see if these options are better for you than LEDs.

Obviously, it would not be practical to throw away all of those incandescent lights that you have purchased over the years, but I know from experience that every season I tend to find a least a couple of my strands are in need of replacing. Either too many bulbs have burned out, or I get too angry trying to find the one bulb that is gumming up the works. Start switching over this season. The initial costs of the LEDs are a bit higher than the traditional lights, so it would be a bit expensive to switch everything over, but a couple of strands a year will get you moving in the right direction.

LEDs are catching on in popularity, so they are easy to find at your local retailers. And remember you get what you pay for. The cheaper LEDs may not be the best choice, as they do not have the quality of other more expensive brands. Look for demonstrations at your local store, or get a promise for a refund or exchange if you don't like the strand you bought.