Benefits of LED Christmas lights

(WWLP) - Before the Thanksgiving Day turkey has even been cut, many of you are out shopping for Christmas lights.

You have basically two choices when it comes to Christmas lights: Incandescent lights, which you probably already use and LED lights which are increasingly popular.

Light Emitting Diode, or LED technology is being talked about a lot these days. With the holidays approaching, you might want to look into bringing LED to your tree.

LED Christmas lights typically last longer than traditional Christmas lights, the bulbs are stronger so you won't be fiddling around your Christmas tree trying to find out which bulb is out and the lights are also brighter than traditional lights.

We spoke with one person who was shopping for outside LED Christmas lights. "I've already upgraded to the new energy efficient bulbs in the inside of the house so now we're trying to do that on the outside. They last longer, the electric bill is lower and they're better quality," said Kathy Luce of East Hampton.

Most LED Christmas lights provide around 25-thousand hours of life and they will likely save you around 80% over incandescent light bulbs when it comes to your energy bill.

"To cover your tree would be about $30 but over the lifetime of the light bulbs you would actually see a savings of $30," said Lou Courteau, Specialty Store Manager of the Chicopee Home Depot.

This means that the savings you get by switching from traditional light bulbs will pay for the cost of the LED bulbs over just a few years.