home - tip library -

11.20.2009


Eyebrow: 
LED Holiday Lights

LED a Charmed Life

Submitted by tmeronek on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 12:00am.
xmas
The Bite:
Want things to always go your way when it comes to your energy bill? Light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs for short) will bring down that bill even more. Try switching just your holiday lights to LEDs for starters. The livin' is easy.
The Benefits: 
  • LED bulbs use 90% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs.
  • If you switch over to LED holiday lights, you'll save an average of $50 over the holiday season on your energy bills (so new lights pay for themselves quick).
  • LEDs last about 6 times as long as CFLs and 60 times as long as old-school incandescent bulbs, so you have to change them less often.
  • They're less likely to cause fires (as much as 90% of the energy consumed by incandescent lights is given off as heat).
  • Unlike CFLs, LEDs contain no mercury.
Personally Speaking: 
Toshio recently had to borrow a ladder to replace the bulbs in one of his ceiling lights - he put in LEDs, hopefully saving him from that annoyance for a couple more decades.
Wanna Try: 
  • Christmas Light Source, Environmental Lights, and Holiday LEDs - recycle your incandescent holiday lights by mail, and get a discount on new LED ones ($14 and up, before discount).
  • Lemnis 6-Watt Light Bulb - just released, this dimmable bulb fits in your average lamp socket and gives off light comparable to a 60-watt incandescent bulb; pricey, but you'll make it back in energy savings over the years ($59).

Cocktail Fact

The world's longest-lasting light bulb (an incandescent, surprisingly) is in the Livermore, CA, fire station and has burned for over 107 years, thanks to extremely low wattage and almost never getting turning on and off (less wear and tear).

Bang For The Bite

If 10,000 Biters use LED holiday lights rather than conventional ones, we'll save a collective $10 million on energy bills over the next 20 years.


 

All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.