Improvements to LED lights that promise to save energy and money are dominating the Christmas lighting market this holiday season.
LED lights use about 90 per cent less electricity than incandescent bulbs, which actually produce more heat than light. Advances in the high tech lights mean more people are able to cover their homes with festive decorations, all while keeping the hydro bill at a reasonable level.
"I like them, they're not as bright as the old ones, but they look pretty and they sure have made the hydro bill go down," said Peter Tsarouhas, who puts about 2,000 lights on his home in Kemptville and is slowly making the move to LED lights.
Many private companies are also making the switch, including Christmas D�cor in Ottawa, which decorates hundreds of homes across the city.
The store's Thom Bourne says while the first generation of LED lights wasn't the best, the industry has made a lot of improvements over the past couple of years.
"We switched over to 100 per cent on the LEDs I guess two or three years ago now, and it's been very, very good for us. We're really happy. Our customers are super happy with it. It's been wonderful," he told CTV Ottawa.
At the retail level, the old style bulbs and even their mini-light versions are almost gone. Although LED lights are more expensive to buy, prices are dropping and they should last five to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. LED lights also cost only one-tenth the price to operate.
"They last much longer. They have an expectant life of up to about five years . . . in the long run it's much cheaper," said Bob Starmans, who works at Canadian Tire.
Those looking to get rid of their old strings of lights can find buyers online who are looking to keep them as collectables.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Paul Brent
