US Department of Energy
L.E.D. holiday lights win timely endorsement of Energy Dept.
By Michael Rubinkam
Associated Press
Consumers can save money on their electricity bills by switching from traditional Christmas lights to L.E.D. (light-emitting diode) lights, the government said last week, giving a boost to a suburban Philadelphia company that holds a patent on the technology.
The Department of Energy report confirmed what Yardley-based Fiber Optic Designs Inc. has been saying for the last several years: L.E.D. lights last much longer, cost a lot less to operate, and are much more durable than conventional Christmas-light sets that frequently malfunction.
"L.E.D. technology is well-suited to this application, and may gradually replace conventional incandescent lights over time, saving significant energy and money," the report said. While still a tiny fraction of total Christmas light sales, L.E.D. lights are becoming more popular. Some retailers have already sold out this year, and utilities are touting the benefits of L.E.D. Christmas lighting to their customers.
L.E.D. lights have been used on state Christmas trees in Oregon, Washington and Montana, while the Long Island Power Authority in New York plans to send a holiday flyer to nearly 1.1 million customers praising L.E.D. lights as the "greatest invention in lighting since Edison invented the light bulb!"
In its report, the Energy Department said that, if all conventional incandescent Christmas lights in the United States were replaced with L.E.D. lights, annual energy savings would total 2 billion kilowatt-hours - enough to power almost 200,000 homes for an entire year.
Mike McCabe of the Energy Department's Building Technologies Program said he expected L.E.D. technology to improve to the point where it can be used to light homes and offices all year round. L.E.D. technology has been around for decades, and L.E.D.s are steadily replacing light bulbs in a variety of devices.
Although L.E.D. Christmas lights have been available for several years, their popularity was limited because they required batteries or transformers and couldn't be strung together or used outdoors. Fiber Optic Designs changed that two years ago by introducing sets that run on standard alternating current and can be strung together and used indoors or out.
Jim Bruno, Fiber Optic Designs' vice president, said the company posted a 400 percent gain in sales this year.
In July, the company announced a worldwide licensing agreement with Holiday Creations Inc., of Littleton, Colo., to speed production.
