Print
Dec 14, 2007 10:49 am US/Eastern
LED Lights Can Trim Tree, And Your Energy Bill
PITTSBURGH (CBS) ―
-
-
LED holiday lights last longer and are safer than traditional strings of holiday lights.
CBS
This holiday season if you'd like to trim your energy bill along with your
Christmas tree, you might want to consider light emitting diode or LED holiday
lights.
Consumer Reports just tested some, as well as traditional ones, to see how
they compare.
When the New Year's ball drops in Times Square
this year, it will be redesigned and completely illuminated by LED or light
emitting diode bulbs.
LED holiday lights, which use less energy, are becoming increasingly
popular, CBS station KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh reported.
Consumer Reports just compared mini and standard-sized incandescent lights
to LED light strands, which can be shorter in length and a little more
expensive.
When it comes to energy efficiency, the LED lights were the clear
winner.
They used one to three kilowatt hours of energy, while the incandescent
bulbs used 12 to 105 kilowatts.
Consumer Reports also checked to see how hot the bulbs were.
The traditional incandescent lights were much hotter.
"Because the LEDs run cooler they can use plastic on the bulbs instead
of glass," said John Banta of Consumer Reports.
So they're more durable and pose a lower fire risk.
And the LED lights tested stayed lit longer, more than 4,000 hours.
In half that time, the incandescent strands had at least one bulb burn out.
As for brightness, the large LED bulbs were noticeably dimmer.
But the mini LED lights were a bit brighter.
So Consumer Reports says this holiday season, for energy savings and more,
LED lights are an illuminating choice.
No matter what type of lights you choose, Consumer Reports says only buy
ones that have the holographic tag that's "UL Listed" and be sure to
read the safety information.
With older lights, inspect them each season and toss any damaged sets.
Consumer Reports also recommends replacing holiday lights after three
seasons.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
