Rockefeller Center's Christmas Tree Lights Up Holiday Season With LEDs!
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 11.23.07
If there’s one “must-see” attraction during Christmas in NYC it’s inevitably the tree at Rockefeller Center. This year’s incarnation is an 84-foot-tall Norway Spruce, and it’s going to be a little bit greener than usual this year, with 30,000 multicolored LEDs strung along 5 miles of wire replacing the standard bulbs that have made its’ predecessors sparkle.
The idea is not only to help utilize less energy, but also to help inspire those who make the annual trek to see it think differently about the use of energy. According to Mayor Bloomberg, the tens of millions of New Yorkers and tourists who see the tree this year will hopefully “…see an example of green leadership which may inspire them to make greener choices in their own lives.”
And, of course, there’s a significant energy saving to be had as well. City officials estimate the switch will reduce the display’s electricity consumption from 3,510 to 1,297 kilowattt hours per day. A savings equal to the amount of electricity consumed by a typical 2,000 sq. ft. house in a month.
Sounds like a “bright idea” to me!
See also:: Where Rockefeller Center's Tree Ends Up
via:: CNN
Me and the dear wife will be visiting the USA to spend Christmas with relatives in New York, I've just shown her the picture and it's on our 'must visit' list.
Actually I many articles on this subject said that even with the new lights it is still *using* as much energy as a 2000 sq. ft. house. The *savings* are closer to the energy used by two 2000 sq. ft. homes.
Wow, awsome stuff! LED's are future in light tech.
That's a harvested tree, right?
My little town finally planted a tree in the spot they prop one up every year. It'd be nice to see other public displays do the same.
@Doug:
Better than what it was before. Focus on the postives here. Why be so negative?
If you read the entire press release, you'll learn that the whole system is also hooked into a nearby rooftop PV system... Both the Lincoln Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge are being rewired with LEDs... a savings of $200.000 a year in electrical bills for the City. It's been written that if we switched all lighting over to LED, we could reduce the entire country's electrical consumption by half... we could do this in less than a decade... it would mean no need for new coal fired or nuclear plants... and possibly take older, dirtier plants off line... LEDs are truly the environmental miracle we were waiting for... consider they've been around for over 30 years... the folks who made light bulbs and sold you electrons have been lying to you all along... look at the consequences... the cat's out of the bag... we can do so much more, with so much less... you can light up an entire MacMansion with 2 solar panels!!! It's going to revolutionize home decor in affluent suburbs... Imagine, the first adopter market can now do something else besides park a Prius next to their Hummer!
LEDs are good okYeah how much do you save in watts compared to a incondenscent bulb you can save up to 80% with a flouressent bulb
I know typos happen sometimes, but at least spell the mayor's name correctly. It's "Bloomberg", sheesh.
Anyway, does anyone know if these, or any other led lights, have a 60 Hz flicker? The only time I've seen led Christmas lights in use was on display in a store a year or two ago, and they flickered. Some people don't see it, but a lot of people do, including myself, and I find the constant 60 Hz blinking extremely annoying.
"consider they've been around for over 30 years... the folks who made light bulbs and sold you electrons have been lying to you all along"
During most of this last 30 years LED's have been comparatively inefficient and limited to yellow, amber, red, and green. It has only been in recent years that LED's that emit white light and are bright enough to be used for lighting have been developed.
Who makes the lights for the tree in Rockfeller Center?
i like the big treee. it shows new yorkers that beauty is all loe.the bis tree is something good for chistmas.