For Immediate Release
Make It a Bright and Energy Efficient Holiday Season with Energy Efficient LED Holiday Lights
To Keep the Season Bright, LIPA is Providing a $2 Rebate on the Purchase of LED Holiday Lights
Farmingdale, NY – November 14, 2006 -This New Year’s Eve, millions will watch the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball slide down the flagpole at midnight. However, this year the ball has changed. For the first time the Times Square Ball will not be lit exclusively by incandescent lights. Almost half of the ball’s lights will be replaced by bright, energy efficient light emitting diode (LED) lighting and plans are underway to make all of the ball’s lights LED’s for next year’s celebration.
Customers of the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) won’t have to wait until next year to switch to LED holiday lights. As part of its ongoing commitment to encourage energy efficiency, LIPA is providing a $2 rebate to customers who purchase LED’s during the Holiday season. The rebate will be good on LED light purchases made between October 1st and December 31ST 2006.
LED is a technology whose time has come. LED’s have been around for years, but new technological advances have made them more energy efficient, brighter and available in a wide range of colors.
“Holiday lighting can be both beautiful and cost-effective,” said LIPA Chairman Richard M. Kessel. “Holiday lights may help bring joy to the season, but they can also bring added costs to electric bills. This year, save energy and money by purchasing energy-efficient LED strands for holiday decorations for homes or businesses.”
LIPA’s rebate program is part of LIPA’s Clean Energy Initiative (CEI). The CEI is a 10-year, $355-million commitment to promote clean, renewable electric generation technologies, energy conservation and efficiency.
LED Lights Keep the Holidays Bright at a Fraction of the Cost
LED’s are illuminated solely by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material. LED’s do not use glass or tungsten fibers. This means that LED’s are very lightweight and environmentally safe. LED’s also produce brighter light with virtually no heat and consume 50% to 70% less energy than conventional lighting. As an example, the energy cost of lighting 600 LED bulbs five hours per day for 30 days is approximately 56 cents. By comparison, the same number of incandescent bulbs utilized over the same amount of time would use almost $23.00 of electricity. LED lighting will save energy for years to come. LED’s can last between 50,000 and 100,000 hours, whereas conventional incandescent light bulbs have a lifespan of around 1,500 hours.
LED holiday lights are available in a wide range of styles and colors and can be purchased in strings from 50 to 250 bulbs. Up to 25 strings of LED lights can be strung together without overloading the typical household circuit.
Keep The Holidays Safe By Following These Safety Tips When Planning Holiday Lighting:
* Before stringing outdoor lights, check for overhead power lines. Don’t place yourself or any object in a position where you or it may come in contact with a power line-the result can be fatal
* If stringing lights on outdoor trees, make sure tree limbs haven’t grown into or near power lines. Branches or entire trees can become energized if they contact a power line.
* Make sure all lights you purchase contain the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) label, which means they meet UL safety requirements.
* While you’re reading labels, be sure you’re buying the right set–for indoor use, outdoor use, or both.
* Before installation, check for frayed wires, damaged sockets, or cracked insulation. If you find any defects, replace the entire set.
* All outdoor cords, plugs and sockets must be weatherproof. Keep electrical connections off the ground, and make sure wiring is kept clear of drainpipes and railings to prevent any risk of shock. Use a ground fault circuit interrupter on each circuit.
* Don’t overload your electrical circuits. Circuits in older homes carry a maximum of 1800 watts each. Most new homes can handle 2400 watts each.
* To determine how many watts you’re using, multiply the number of holiday bulbs by the number of watts per bulb. (If you’re not sure of the wattage, use 10 watts per bulb just to be safe!) When you’re calculating the total, don’t forget to include appliances, normal lighting, and other electrical equipment already running on the same circuit.
* Remember that hot bulbs can ignite dry tree branches. To avoid disaster, keep trees well watered and keep extension cords and light strings away from the water. For safety’s sake, light your tree only when you are at home and awake to enjoy it. As an extra precaution, keep a fire extinguisher handy, and be sure your home’s smoke detectors have new batteries and that they’re working properly.
* Turn Christmas lights off during the day or when you are away or when you are asleep. Timers are a simple way to do this and also are a safety measure since lights can cause fires if not used properly. For safety’s sake: Always unplug your lights before going to bed or leaving home.
* Protect little fingers: Make sure there’s a bulb in each socket. If a bulb is burned out, leave it in until you have a replacement.
* To prevent electrical shock, never use electric decorations on artificial trees with metallic needles, leaves, or branches. Instead, place colored spotlights above or beside the tree-never attached to it. Make sure artificial trees are flame retardant.
* Take the lights down after the holidays! No need to light up the night until spring!
* Use timers to limit holiday light displays to no more than six evening hours per day to curb energy use and costs, and to avoid having to remember to turn them on and off every day. Leaving lights on 24-hours a day will quadruple your energy costs – and create four times the pollution.
Energy Star: The gift that keeps on giving.
According to the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), by 2015, home electronics and small appliances will be responsible for more that 40% of all household electricity consumption. LIPA and the EPA encourage Long Islanders to make their next home electronics purchase one that has earned the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) (ENERGY STAR) rating for energy efficiency.
“Electronic appliances that have earned the (ENERGY STAR) rating are a gift everyone can feel good about because they have all the great popular features and they use less energy,” said Mr. Kessel. “By meeting strict energy efficiency standards set by the EPA, they are friendlier to the environment. Give the gift of a cleaner environment with (ENERGY STAR) rated electronic appliances, a gift that keeps on giving.”
To learn more about LIPA’s Clean Energy Initiative (CEI) and electric safety visit LIPA’s Web site at www.lipower.org or call 1-800-692-2626.
LIPA, anon-profit municipal electric utility, owns the retail electric system on Long Island and provides electric service to nearly 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. LIPA does not own any on-island generation assets and does not provide natural gas service.
LIPA Contact Information:
Media Relations: (516) 719-9892
Media Pager: (516) 525-LIPA
LIPA News Center
http://www.lipower.org/newscenter
LIPA CEI
http://www.lipower.org/cei
