You Can "Go Green" like the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

The lights are extra "green" on the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York this year. Of course, when you look at the more than 30,000 lights on the tree, you'll see all the colors you might expect. But, something is different.

This year, the people who run Rockefeller Center say they've decided to light the tree the "smart way", with energy-efficient, Light-Emitting Diode, or LED, lights. According to The Tree At Rockefeller Center website, this year's lights will use a "small fraction of the power traditionally required for the tree."

If you want to go green too, it's easy. LED lights are available at many stores across the country, including CVS, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart and Home Depot. And the selection includes lots of different designs, including stars and icicle lights.

Even though you probably don't have as many lights at as they do at Rockefeller Center, buying LED lights for your home display will help you save money.

The Long Island Power Authority website says LED bulbs use up to 96 percent less energy than standard holiday lights and "are also safer to operate because they create much less heat and have no glass bulbs to replace or break." The power company says the lights will last for up to 20 years, so even though they may cost a few dollars more than the regular lights when you buy them, you should be buy fewer strands of lights over time.

The details section for one of the strands of lights being sold on Amazon.com claims their LED Christmas lights will last more than 100,000 hours. The information for another set says the "Average lifetime of LED lights is ten times longer than regular Christmas lights."

While product descriptions might be considered biased, LIPA has a chart that shows how much you'll save on your electric bill. According to their calculations, if you use ten strands of 100 lights each, for five hours a day you'll spend about $1.50 for electricity on the LED lights after a month. That compares to almost $13 with traditional Christmas "mini" lights and $152 for the larger C7 lights.

The LIPA website FAQ page does point out one negative, though. It says you shouldn't plug in those electric, moving ornaments to the string of LED lights.

Other than that, the lights that save energy should be just as pretty as the regular ones. So, it's easy being green for Christmas, in more ways than one.