We are full swing into the Christmas Season. We are either pulling out the Christmas tree from last year, or picking out a new tree, to decorating the outside for that neighborhood prize or to show our love for the season so others can see. As you start to think about decorating with lights, inside or outside, big or small. Let us take a look at what the differences are between LED bulbs and Incandescent bulbs as stated by energy.gov:
LED Holiday Lights
LEDs consume far less electricity than incandescent bulbs, and decorative LED light strings such as Christmas tree lights are no different. Not only do LED holiday lights consume less electricity, they also have the following advantages:
- Safer: LEDs are much cooler than incandescent lights, reducing the risk of combustion or burnt fingers.
- Sturdier: LEDs are made with epoxy lenses, not glass, and are much more resistant to breakage.
- Longer lasting: The same LED string could still be in use 40 holiday seasons from now.
- Easier to install: Up to 25 strings of LEDs can be connected end-to-end without overloading a wall socket.
- Estimated cost of electricity to light a six-foot tree for 12 hours a day for 40 days
TYPE OF LIGHT COST Incandescent C-9 lights $10.00 LED C-9 lights $0.27 Incandescent Mini-lights $2.74 LED Mini-lights $0.82 Estimated cost* of buying and operating lights for 10 holiday seasons
Type of Light Cost Incandescent C-9 lights $122.19 LED C-9 lights $17.99 Incandescent Mini-lights $55.62 LED Mini-lights $33.29 *Assumes 50 C-9 bulbs and 200 mini-lights per tree, with electricity at $0.119 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) (AEO 2012 Residential Average). Prices of lights based on quoted prices for low volume purchases from major home improvement retailers. All costs have been discounted at an annual rate of 5.6%. Life span assumed to be three seasons (1,500 hours) for non-LED lights.
