With a fiery past and a bright future, here are four things you probably didn’t know about Christmas lights.
1. Even when turned off, your lights are still using energy. This is called phantom energy, and it costs Americans $100 a year on average. If your lights have an on/off switch, save money by plugging them into a power strip and turning it off when not in use, especially when you go on vacation.
2. LEDs are worth it. Yes, LED holiday lights cost more upfront than incandescent strands, but they’ll save you money in the long run. LEDs consume 80 percent less energy than their traditional counterparts, and they last 25 times longer.
3. Holiday lights have a long, fiery history. Candles were the original holiday lights, posing fire hazards for generations until Thomas Edison created the first electric lighting display for the holidays at his Menlo Park lab in 1880. While incandescent bulbs are less dangerous than open flame, they still cause an average of 230 home fires each year. In contrast, LED bulbs are cool to the touch.
4. You can recycle your old holiday lights. Recycling programs around the country will take your old incandescent lights and recycle them for free. Some even offer rebates or discounts on LED lights to make the switch to more efficient lighting even easier. Find recycling programs at home improvement stores before the holidays or through online programs like this one year-round.
