All I Want For Xmas Is An LED
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden 
on 12.18.07
Lighting is a pet peeve for me - I nearly got fired from my first real job for secretly removing all the fluorescent lights from above my desk. So it's been hard to be a fan of LEDs although they are superior to incandescents (and to CFLs) in efficiency. When it comes to Christmas tree lights, our household will forgo strings of lights altogether (though nixing the tree met fierce opposition). We will instead revert to the ancient Euro-tradition of having a few (a few!) clip-on parafin-free stearin candles for atmosphere, only lit during the scant time we'll spend around the tree.
But for those with big trees and/or the need for indoor and outdoor holiday lighting, it was a pleasant surprise to discover that the stark white of LED light strings is not too bad on a tree and can be make an appreciable difference - ok, about the price of a couple of lattés - in energy savings over the course of the month or so they are used. The Swedish Energy Department actually did a comparative study of the energy usage of 12 different brands of strings (here) of lights, most of them only available locally, but some, especially the Glänsa Lysa, stocked at local IKEAs. And it's not too late to get LEDs for this holiday! Burning LEDs for the entire holiday season can cost only pennies, according to Appalachian Power, though the purchase price is higher than incandescents. And at least one source, HolidayLEDs, will still (through today) take orders for the holidays - white or multi-colored strings. And they'll recycle old incandescent strings, a wonderful plus. Via ::HolidayLEDs
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This is my first year with Christmas lights ever on my place, and I decided to get LED rope lighting from BirdDog Distributing. You can't beat the price and it is very bright. I highly recommend them.
While I often see people make the general claim that LED lights are more efficient than fluorescent, this really isn't a fact. If you look at the lumens per watt of available LED "bulbs" or fixtures, the efficiency from 120V watts to light output is not better for LEDs. CFLs are routinely at 60 lumens per watt. High efficiency tube fluorescents can be close to 100 lumens per watt. I know of no source for white replacement bulbs based on LEDs that betters these numbers.
Certain applications such as recessed downlights might give an advantage to LEDs which are inherently directional, unlike CFLs. But still the advantage would be marginal in terms of efficiency. The real win for LEDs is longevity and lack of mercury, but at the expense of initial cost.
Five years from now we might have 120-150 lumens per watt for a complete white LED bulb package. Then they will be the efficiency winner.
Thanks for drawing attention to these longer-lasting, energy efficient, and just plain cooler lights! Here's a good article on the Environmental Defense website that might help you find LED's for your holiday needs: http://www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?contentID=5619
Enjoy!