I’m dreaming of a “Green Christmas”

What do alternative energy and Christmas have in common?

LED Christmas lights. LED stands for light-emitting diode and this technology can be found everywhere from flashlights to traffic signs. For some interesting reading on LED technology, check out the Wikipedia article on the subject.

If you haven’t already put up your holiday lights yet, you should consider getting some LED lights. (I realize this article comes a bit late for many of you….I already set a reminder on my computer to post this article next year around Thanksgiving when people begin to string the lights up for the holiday season.)

Yes, they are more expensive upfront, but they will save you money in the long run. They are much more durable than the incandescent lights since there are no filaments to burn out or break. Plus, color incandescent bulbs fade because the colored plastic lens degrade in the elements. Since the color of LED lights is based on the actual chip rather than a colored lens, you can maintain vibrant colors year after year.

Most of important of all, they save energy and every bit of energy matters at a time when a growing and modernizing world requires more and more energy. LED lights use a jaw-dropping 1/100th of the energy a old-fashioned incandescent light.

According to a Department of Energy study in 2003, holiday lighting costs 2.2 billion kWh (kilowatt-hours) of electricity a year. If everybody in the country switched to LED lights, we could save an estimated 2 billion kWh every year!!

Think about all the holiday lights across the world and how much energy could be saved. That’s electricity that could be used to power electric cars and replace the heating oil needed by many to keep warm this winter. That’s a lot of oil that could be saved, folks.

I don’t about you, but I’m dreaming of a “Green” Christmas!

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Posted by Tim Roth, author of the political blog Think Anew and Act Anew