Green Christmas

If you're like me, chances are you are trying to reconcile your lifestyle with your ideals about the earth and environment.  Maybe you want to celebrate the holidays in full Griswold style, but are concerned about the energy all those lights will waste.  Problem solved. 

Most places you can buy Christmas lights (I bought mine at Lowe's), you can now opt for LED's. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode, something you are probably most familiar with as the little red light which indicates power on a piece of electronics.  In recent years, this simple improvement on the light bulb has replaced traditional stop lights, become information screens and video monitors, and rivals the flashlight.  By grouping several LED's together, they are much brighter and more efficient than a conventional bulb.  They don't produce heat, should last 5 times longer and operate with 98% less energy.  So it turns out they make beautiful Christmas lights, without the worry.

I'm dreaming of a green Christmas...   

Comments

[erikka]

we use LED's at work all the time and they are great little lights and last forever. a great alternative to traditional x-mas lighting. good idea for a post.

[erikka]

we use LED's at work all the time and they are great little lights and last forever. a great alternative to traditional x-mas lighting. good idea for a post.

[Jeremy]

25 lights for $9? Doesn't sound as good as other possible christmas deals. Combine that they would only be up for ~1 month. Plus I still have lots of the old lights (all tangled no doubt).

Maybe in a few years as the technology reduces the price.

[JW]

Yeah, they do cost a little more, and not everybody is ready to replace their lights. It's important to factor other things in as well, like energy savings, how long they last, etc.
As with most kinds of energy alternatives, they still are mostly about good feelings than financial sense at this point. But for those of us who consider good stewardship of earth's resources important, it's a good first step, and helpful to make the finances work out for others in the future.