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December 5, 2007

The green way to make the season bright

Are you one of those do-it-yourselfers who spends the day after Thanksgiving hunting for extension cords, untangling strands of holiday lights, and clambering around on the roof to create an eye-popping lighting display?

HolidayStringLights.jpg

If so, you know the sinking feeling of opening the mailbox to find the December electric bill...

While I have to admit that I love twinkling holiday lights, it’s hard to justify the added expense, and even harder to justify the environmental costs of sucking up all that energy.

Here’s a good compromise: Replace your old-fashioned string lights with energy-efficient LED (Light-Emitting Diode) lights. They use about 90 percent less energy than traditional string lights, and they also last much longer. Some LED lights are predicted to last two decades or more! And because they generate less heat, LED strands may pose less of a fire hazard.

LEDs are widely available—you can even find them at stores like Home Depot—and there are lots of options to choose from, including net lights, icicles, snowflakes, and garlands. Take the green holiday spirit one step further and recycle your old string lights as you replace them with LEDs.

Still, perhaps the best solution of all is to experience the holiday light show vicariously this year instead of doing it yourself! You can start by surveying the handiwork of an Ohio electrical engineer who strung over 25,000 lights in his yard and synchronized them with music.


Willem Maas
Publisher, GreenHomeGuide

Posted by wmaas at December 5, 2007 5:58 PM

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Comments

People,
Here in Northern Vermont, we are trying to build a very green home but the banks dont undrestand the logic or see the resale possibilities. We need to connect with those who will either give-grant us money for their P.R. benefit or find banks who understand the potential of strawbail -post and beam + other green construction designs.Please give us leads to this end.

Posted by: Philip Lightbear at January 12, 2008 7:00 AM