{"id":16052,"date":"2013-12-13T13:50:47","date_gmt":"2013-12-13T19:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=16052"},"modified":"2013-12-13T13:50:47","modified_gmt":"2013-12-13T19:50:47","slug":"led-holiday-lights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/led-holiday-lights\/","title":{"rendered":"Brighten Up Your Holidays – Sustainably – with LED Lights"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It all started with candles. The tradition of an illuminated holiday tree emerged around the 18th century, when wax candles were used to festoon the branches of fresh evergreens. Candles.<\/p>\n

The notion is somewhat terrifying today. But even those incandescent bulbs<\/a> of childhood had their safety and practical drawbacks. The large glass bulbs would shatter; the colored paint would chip and fade. And the occasional ornament would melt or worse if hung too close to a hot colored bulb.<\/p>\n

Of course, safety issues were just part of the story. Those hot bulbs used a lot of energy \u2013 adding to holiday bills and \u2013 as we now know\u2013 accelerating the slow melt of Santa\u2019s polar home.<\/p>\n

Great news on all counts came with the arrival of the LED light<\/a>. Shop the holiday aisle at any supermarket today, and LED lights represent the bulk of holiday lighting now for sale. And while price tag seems like a jump from the strings of yore, LED lights actually offer multiple cost benefits.<\/p>\n

The advantages of LED (light-emitting diode) technology start with solid state lighting (SSL)<\/a>. In solid-state lighting, light is generated from the solid LED semiconductor when electrons pass through it.\u00a0This technology uses about 75% less energy than incandescent holiday lights.<\/p>\n

In fact, widespread use of LEDs by 2027 could save up to 348 TWh (vs. no LED use) of electricity. That equates to the annual production of 44 large electric power plants (at 1000 megawatts each) and $30 billion (based on current electricity prices) in savings.<\/p>\n

Six Jolly Reasons to Decorate with LED Lights at the Holidays:<\/h3>\n