How Eco-Friendly Are Your Christmas Lights?
Save energy and reduce your bills this holiday season with these eco-friendly tips for your Christmas lights.
When it comes to making your Christmas decorations more green, eco-friendly holiday lights are a great place to start. Many of us put up our lights at the beginning of December and leave them on all day, every day until the 12th night. Although it’s great to get into the holiday spirit, you can only imagine how much energy this uses – especially if you don’t have energy-efficient lights!
Thankfully there are quite a few measures you can take to help make your Christmas a more eco-friendly one.
Use Low-Energy LED Lights
The good news is that more and more Christmas lights are now made with low-energy LEDs. These were first introduced a few years ago, and are far more energy-efficient than traditional Christmas lights. Simply switching your old lights with these newer eco-friendly holiday LEDs could save a huge amount of energy this Christmas. The good news is that, if one light goes out, the rest will carry on working – and LED lights last for a long time, so you’ll also save on buying new lights every year or two when the regular ones stop working, not to mention reducing all those extra old lights going into the landfill!
Consider Solar Powered Lights
Even if you live in a country that isn’t famous for its sunlight levels, you can still take advantage of solar powered lights this Christmas. These eco-friendly holiday lights will work in the winter when sun levels are low, but they do require at least some sunlight to work. This means they won’t last as long in the winter as in the summer, but you can still expect them to stay lit for a couple of days from a single good sunny charge.
It’s important to note that solar lights won’t come on if you have a particularly bad run of gloomy weather, or if you can’t face them toward the sunlight. How brightly they show up in the evening depends on how much sun they get during the day.
Other Tips For Saving Energy On Your Christmas Lights
Perhaps solar powered lights aren’t for you – or you’ll only be placing lights inside the home this Christmas. There are still things that you can do if you already own LED lights, or don’t want to replace your traditional lights with new ones yet.
1) Turn Off Your Lights When You’re Out: Many people leave their lights on even when they’re out of the house. Although this can make your window look nice, just turning the lights off when you leave the home could help to save a huge amount of energy.
2) Switch Them Off An Hour Earlier: Try switching your lights off an hour earlier each night, or turn them on an hour later than you usually do. You’ll still get a great amount of enjoyment from your lights but you’ll also get the pleasure of knowing you’re helping to save some energy!
Even incorporating just one of the measures mentioned in this article could make a big difference in the amount of energy you use, helping to make it a more eco-friendly holiday.
