Make Holiday Lights a Gift to the Environment
The holidays and darker months are upon us again. Holiday lighting helps stave off the dark, but it comes with environmental impacts.
To minimize the impact, decorate with LED lights for your holidays and “winter” lights. LED holiday/winter lights use at least 75 percent less energy and last 25 times longer than older, incandescent lighting. In addition to consuming less energy, LED lights don’t emit as much heat and are more resistant to breakage, making them a safer alternative. Bonus tip:
Always unplug your holiday lights before going to bed or leaving the house. As with all appliances and electronics, your holiday lights may continue to draw power even when not in use, which adds unnecessary expense to utility bills.
We replaced all of our twinkle lights in the barn at the Historical Society with LED strings a few years ago, and have rarely had to replace them, which was an issue with the older style.