Brighten the Holidays: Why LEDs Shine This Season
The winter holiday season is back and nearly all of the 117 million households in the United States will be decorating.
A Bright Holiday Tradition
Thomas Edison attached the first electric lights to a Christmas Tree outside of his Menlo Park laboratory in 1880, and within a couple of years, the first incandescent holiday lighting products were available for sale.
Not much was known about light bulbs in those early days. Safety standards, power consumption, lifespan, suggested uses, were all unknown. That is until the formation of the Underwriters Laboratories, now easily recognized by their ubiquitous UL labels on nearly all electric products.
A Decorating Revolution
Spending on seasonal decorations is expected to top $8 billion worldwide in 2024, including lighting and decorations for Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, and Kwanzaa and regardless of how you celebrate, there’s a good chance that Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) will be a big part of how you brighten your mood and create lasting family memories. The wear of weather, time, and advances in technology are gradually closing out the “bulb” age for holiday decorating. The miniature incandescent lights that debuted in the 1960s fill shrinking shelf space for many retailers, while the styles and design options for LED products continue to expand.
“UL Solutions issues a certification and creates a detailed report outlining each product’s design and construction,” says Robert LaRocca.
LaRocca, Product manager in UL’s engineered materials group (recently retired), recently told me that UL uses random inspections, performance monitoring and downstream surveillance to regularly reaffirm that the decorations we buy continue to meet performance and safety standards noted in their initial assessments.
“Most holiday lights are designed for temporary use and aren’t meant to be left up all year round,” says LaRocca. “The lifespan of these lights depends on a variety of factors, including the type of light, where they’re used, how often they’re used and their specific features and components.” But consumer preferences for LED lighting have not just been about brighter nights, or customized color and display patterns. They’ve also been driven by increased reliability and energy efficiency.
Brighter Nights, Lower Bills
A 1,000-bulb string of incandescent miniatures consumes about 408 watts of energy compared to an equal LED string’s 48 watts. Since most residential circuits operate at a maximum load of 15 to 20 amps, up to three outlets might be needed for the incandescent strings to prevent overload, while the LEDs would use a single outlet.
According to UL analysts, more than 50 strings of LED lights, consuming less than 2.5 watts of power can be connected end-to-end without hitting a 216-watt threshold without triggering a 20-amp breaker, giving consumers more flexibility in their decorating schemes.
“It’s important for the consumer to do their research to make informed purchases.” Says LaRocca, adding that any device carrying the UL label meets the same safety standards as any other device with that designation, regardless of price or brand. “If energy efficiency is a concern, look for the Energy Star label or other energy-related certifications.”
Decorating Safely for the Season
Whether you are buying more light sets to add to your displays this year, or unpacking strings from holiday seasons past, UL Solutions recommends that you check each lamp and all cords to ensure they are working or for any signs of wire damage. They also encourage you to plug them in for awhile before positioning them for the season so the cords can become slightly more flexible. If time allows, you might consider testing and marking how and where the light sets were used to make redecorating easier this time next year.
Iconic Holiday Displays
LEDs are such a huge part of our holiday decorating now that they’ve become symbols of some of our most iconic holiday celebrations. The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York’s Manhattan has more than 50,000 LEDs that will brighten spirits from December 4 through January 11.
About 1,000 lbs. of LED lighting will be on display in and around the National Christmas Tree in Washington, DC this year. According to the National Park Service, more than 75,000 LED lamps will be illuminated nightly on the Ellipse near the White House Dec. 5 through New Year’s Day.
Hargrove, Inc., now headquartered in Lanham, Maryland has been decorating the National Christmas Tree annually since the late 1940s. At the request of the White House, LEDs have been used exclusively since 2007. They also account for the lion’s share of lighting used in both institutional and commercial holiday decorating today.
“Every November and December our team takes great pride in building and installing holiday decorations and lighting up venues in the DC area, says Scott Finlayson, Hargrove’s senior vice president and general manager. “As displays are upgraded, more of the lighting has transitioned away from incandescent bulbs to LED solutions.
Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting and the National Park’s Service’s Pathway to Peace and National Christmas Tree are among the most popular winter events. But festival lighting, boat parades and seasonal decorations at favorite entertainment venues like amusement parks and zoos mark the season in many communities, offering colorful alternatives to those still popular neighborhood drives to see the lights.
According to Finlayson, commercial property managers and institutional event coordinators cite the color changing options, dimmability and options like chasing and twinkling effects, along with energy efficiency and proven reliability as factors for transitioning from incandescent light sets to LEDs.
And consumers are taking notice. Whether they handle holiday decorating as a do-it-yourself family project or bring in professionals to handle all or most of the work, LEDs have become the lighting option of choice for most of us.
A Bright Future for Holiday Lights
According to the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals, the industry association representing more than 200 contractors, manufacturers, lighting designers, and landscape architects, more than 60% of the spending on outdoor lighting in the United States is related to displays used from November through early January. Industry analysts suggest that a community of 50,000 can support one or more service businesses producing seasonal revenues topping $100,000 during a three-month installation and storage season.
About 150 million new light sets are purchased each year. Added to the sets hauled out of storage this year, wherever you are, that should be more than enough to make your season bright.
Encourage customers to share photos of their decorated homes directly to your utility so you can share them to a broad audience while promoting the benefits of modern, efficient lighting.
