A green glow at Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2007
Filed Under Uncategorized |

by Willy Ritch

I don’t know how many OSHA regulations I was breaking this week when I was stringing some Christmas lights outdoors, but I bet it was a lot, mostly involving a ladder, electricity and working in the rain. But the whole operation was completed successfully, without any broken bones or, unlike every other year, without any broken Christmas lights. It’s just another benefit of making the switch to LEDs.

A 20 year lifespan, rugged durability, a brighter twinkle and incredibly low energy consumption made these new Christmas lights a no-brainer for me, and I’m not alone. A Staten Island newspaper story features a couple that was spending $100 a month on electricity for their traditional Christmas lights, but after switching to LED they expect to be spending about $10. And it’s not just homeowners who have jumped on the LED bandwagon, according to the story.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is lit by 30,000 LED bulbs powered by solar panels on the roof of 45 Rockefeller Plaza, and the 2008 sign above the crystal ball that will drop in Times Square on New Years Eve is equipped with LED bulbs.

And it’s not just money that LED lights are saving–it’s the planet, too. The Union of Concerned Scientists says traditional Christmas lights are responsible for as much global warming pollution as 250,000 cars. Most of that would be eliminated with the switch to LEDs. (Just think how much money would be saved and CO2 avoided if the lights in this display were LED.)

(Whatever kind of lights you have and whatever holiday you’re celebrating, all of at SmartPower wish you the best.)

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