(NU) - Driving throughneighborhoods this holiday sea-son, you may have noticed thatsome holiday lights are brighterand more vividly colored thanothers. According to the Ameri-can Lighting Association (ALA),the reason for the added bril-liance is that more and morehomeowners are opting to deco-rate with LED lights instead ofthe traditional incandescent type.

“Incandescent bulbs havebeen used for decorating holidaytrees since 1882, shortly after(Thomas)Edison invented anddemonstrated his first practicalincandescent bulbs on NewYear’s Eve in 1879,” says TerryMcGowan, ALA director oftechnology. “Now, more than acentury later, incandescent holi-day lights are being phased outas LED bulbs appear in a multi-tude of types, colors, sizes andstring configurations.”

Compared to strings of incan-descent bulbs, LEDs offer:

• Longer bulb life (3-yearwarranties; average life up to100,000 hours)

• Energy savings (16-17 wattsof savings for a 25-foot lightstring) -- a reduction of more than75 percent

• Bright colors -- LEDs gen-erate only the desired color; in-candescent bulbs use color filterswhich waste light

• Cool operation -- LEDshave no hot filament inside;bulbs remain cool

What’s New This Year?• Miniature Light Strings.

LEDs are small and can be fabri-cated into tiny dots of light. Amer-ican Lighting Inc. (www.Ameri-canlighting.com) calls these “dewdrop” lights. Strings of these tinycool-operating lights can be usedto decorate foliage, live plants or

a floral centerpiece. The lightstrings are made in various colorsand operate at low voltage, andsome strings are designed for bat-tery operation so that no powercords are required.

• Tree wrapping. Strings oflights closely wrapped around thebase of deciduous trees and thenup into the branches give a festivelook to even small trees or shrubs.The secret is to use strings of lightswith 6 inches or less betweenbulbs, which can be wrappedaround the trunk and limbs with nomore than 3inches between the lay-ers of wrapped wiring.

• Magnetic sockets. Socketsdesigned to be used with standardscrew-in incandescent or LEDbulbs are available with built-inmagnets that hold tightly to anyferrous metal. A narrow metalbacking strip can be used toquickly mount lights in a straightline, making installation, take-down or spacing adjustmentseasy. The magnets keep the lightsin line and hold tightly in allweather conditions.

For more LED lighting tips,visit americanlightingassoc.com.

Brighten Your HolidaysWith LED Lights

HOLIDAYS

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Holiday light sockets withmagnets are quick and easyto mount onto metal strips.

American Lighting, Inc./NewsUSA