To create a festive atmosphere in your home, the Alliance suggests using energy-efficient decorative holiday lights.

“Using LED lights will give you and yours more holiday cheer by delivering both beautiful ambiance and decades of electric bill savings,” said Alliance President Kateri Callahan, who also noted, “families can power 140 LED holiday lights with the electricity consumed by just one old-fashioned, 7-watt incandescent bulb!”

Holiday LEDs Keep Giving

• Savings: Since LED holiday lights use as much as 90% less energy than incandescent lights, you save on your energy bills during the holiday season.
• Safer: LEDs are much cooler than incandescent lights when lit, reducing the risk of fire – and burnt fingers.
• Sturdier: LEDs are made with epoxy lenses, not glass, and are much more resistant to breakage. And if one bulb burns out, it can be replaced, while the rest of the string stays lit.
• Longer lasting: An LED string lit for 12 hours a day for 40 days could last for as many as 40 holiday seasons. Light up your tree for fewer hours and they will last even longer!
• Easier to install: Up to 25 strings of LEDs can be connected end-to-end without overloading a wall socket.

Spend Less on Utility Bills

The estimated electricity costs for various types of lights lit for 12 hours a day during a 40-day holiday season come to:

Type of Holiday Light		Electricity Cost
Incandescent C-9 lights		$10.00
LED C-9 lights		$0.27
Incandescent mini-lights		$2.74
LED mini-lights		$0.82

* This chart is based on information from the Department of Energy *

Other Ways to Save This Holiday Season

• Use Timers: Further maximize holiday lighting savings by using timers to limit the number of hours your holiday lights are on.
• Turn it Off: Be sure to turn off indoor lighting decorations overnight and when leaving the house.
• Buy Energy Star: When shopping for gifts or home improvements, look for the ENERGY STAR label – the federal government’s symbol of energy efficiency – on electronics, home office equipment, appliances, and other products to cut related electricity bills by up to 30 percent. Find information on dozens of ENERGY STAR qualified products at www.energystar.gov.
• Learn More: Get more energy- and money-saving information from Alliance videos on water-saving tips, home-building tips, and general home energy tips.

Learn More about LEDs

For more on saving with energy-efficient lighting, check out the Alliance’s LED video, lighting tips videos, and lighting web page and the LUMEN Coalition website.

Media Contact:

• Michael Timberlake; (202) 448-8758