LEDs: The Energy-Saving Alternative
What are LEDs?
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits visible light when an electric current passes through it. Unlike incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs, LEDs do not give off much heat, use less electricity to produce light and are more efficient at producing visible light. Optics and photonics researchers are continually working to make LEDs even more efficient.
Fast Facts
- Energy savings: LEDs could reduce electricity consumption for lighting by up to 90 percent.
- Cost savings: By 2025, LEDs could save $25 billion per year by cutting U.S. energy consumption for lighting in half.
- Longer life spans: An LED can last up to 100,000 hours - more than 10 years of continuous use (compared to 1,000 hours for an incandescent bulb and 10,000 hours for fluorescent bulbs).
- Efficiency potential: LEDs are at least 10 times more efficient than incandescent bulbs and twice as efficient as fluorescent bulbs.
Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, OIDA, Energy Information Administration, Sandia National Laboratories
LEDs for the Holidays
- Holiday savings: The U.S. could save as much as 3,400 kilowatt-hours or $375 million by switching to LED holiday lights this season.
- If everyone using conventional lighting during the holidays switched to LED lights, the energy savings would be equivalent to the annual energy consumption of more than 60,000 Americans.
Electricity Costs of Lighting One Six-Foot Tree for
5 Hours Per Day for 30 Days
| Type of Lights |
Cost |
| Standard C-7 Lights |
$5.93 |
| Mini-lights |
$1.42 |
| LED lights |
$0.11 |
Cost of Buying and Operating Lights for One Six-Foot Tree for 10 Holiday Seasons
Type of Lights |
Cost Per String |
Strings Per Tree |
Lights on Tree |
Energy Per Season |
Total 10 Year Cost* |
| Standard C-7 Lights |
$4.00 |
5 |
125 |
75 kWh |
$125.92 |
| Mini-lights |
$3.00 |
3 |
300 |
18 kWh |
$44.22 |
| LED lights |
$12.50 |
3 |
225 |
1.4 kWh |
$38.57 |
*This cost includes the initial purchase price for the lights.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
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