You might be surprised by how much energy traditional incandescent Christmas lights use. Many of the larger lights use about five watts per bulb. A string of a hundred Christmas lights can run 500 watts. If your lights are on for six hours per day for a month then that one strand may use 90 kilowatt-hours. At 10 cents per watt, that strand will cost you $9.00 to run for one month.

Solar Christmas lights are more efficient than incandescents. They use light emitting diodes or LEDs. This LED lighting uses a fraction of the electricity that traditional incandescent Christmas lights use. Because they require little energy, a strand of LEDs can be powered by a small solar panel and rechargeable batteries. Your house guests will look in awe and wonderment at your unique mini solar panels that illuminate your Christmas lights.

Solar powered lights are eco friendly. Each kilowatt-hour of electricity produced by fossil fuels will generate up to 2.3 pounds of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a gas that creates a layer of insulation in the atmosphere. This means that light from the sun passes through the atmosphere easily on the way in. However, the heat that would usually go back into space instead gets trapped and ends up warming up the planet. Scientists call this “global warming”. By reducing carbon emissions, we can help find global warming solutions. By using solar powered LED Christmas lights, you can help reduce our dependence on fossil fuel and save electricity. By replacing a strand of traditional incandescent Christmas lights with solar string lights, you are reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by 207 pounds for the holiday season.

Finally, here are a few benefits of solar lights that you might not have considered. Since you will not need long extension cords, your chances of tripping on a cord and scraping your knee are low. In addition, traditional lights use household voltage, which is about 120 volts. If the cord is cut and you touch it while it is plugged in, you could die from shock. With solar Christmas lights, the voltage is very low, as is the wattage, so you shouldn’t die.

Solar Christmas lights will help you save money on your electricity bill. They are good for the environment, and help eliminate one of the causes of global warming.  And they could even save your life!

During the holidays, when you’re giving gifts to family and friends, give one to future generations by helping the earth.  It’s quick, easy and will save you money.  What could be better?  You have nothing to lose.

Solar Christmas lights cost about the same and use much less electricity then standard bulbs, they reduce pollution from power plants, thereby reducing causes of global warming, and last longer.  They also stay cooler.  Here’s a helpful tip: when you’re shopping for the lights, most should list energy usage information on cards attached to them.

There are many companies that promote environmental friendliness and sell LED lights and/or solar string lights.  The following is a list of some of those companies.

www.Environmentallights.com offers LED lights, LED rope lights, light nets, garlands, icicle strings, and more.  Most are ENERGY STAR qualified, including Forever Bright Premium Retail and Commercial LED Christmas lights.  They also have a Christmas Light Large Order Discount Program.

www.EarthTechProducts.com brings to the mainstream alternative energy ideas that many people  are unaware of, such as solar powered iPod and cell phone chargers, LED Christmas lighting, solar garden lights, and more well known products such as solar panels and solar lights.

www.Greenhome.com is a comprehensive online resource for greening your home. Their mission is to “green the world, one person at a time”.  They offer solar powered LED holiday lights that “green-ify” your home and holiday, as well as solar powered Christmas wreaths.

www.EnergyFederation.org is a good source if you’re looking for commercial solar lighting. The primary difference between residential strings and commercial strings is the packaging (residential strings come in retail packaging while commercial strings are simply in bags) and the fact that residential strings are longer, but every residential string has its own plug, while commercial strings have special “locking” connectors to allow long lengths of multiple strings to be strung together without a chance that they can disconnect.  They can both be used for interior and exterior.

www.Solarfeeds.com reminds us that traditional Christmas lighting can add up to $120 to the average electricity bill and therefore solar LED Christmas lights are perfect for gifting to your relatives this Christmas.

In summary, the companies above help you have a merry Christmas by offering solar powered products that light up your home and your life during the holiday season.

Here’s a brilliant idea for the holidays: solar Christmas lights!  This relatively new development in environmentally friendly holiday decorations comes from the marriage of LED Christmas lights with a solar panel.  The convergence of decreasing costs for both LED lights and solar technology has made solar string lights affordable.  Now, you can light up your house for Christmas (or at any other time) without burning any fossil fuels or increasing your electricity bill.  You can capture the power of the sun, and delight your neighbors by using it to light up the night in your choice of colors.

Here is how these lights work:  During the day, a small solar panel collects energy from the sun and stores it in a rechargeable battery.  Once the sun goes down, a sensor tells the unit to stop charging the battery and to turn the lights on.  The lights will then glow until the battery runs out of juice, or until the sun comes up, whichever comes first.  This works even if the day is rainy, snowy, or overcast; the battery may not charge as fully on a cloudy day, but the solar panel should still provide enough energy for the lights to run for a while.  Keep in mind that solar lights work best when mounted outside, because you will get less power from the sun if the sunlight has to pass through a window before hitting the solar panel.

One of the keys to the development of solar string lights is the decreasing cost of LED lights.  LED lights have the major advantage that they use about 8 times less energy than regular incandescent lights, allowing them to run for a much longer time on a small amount of solar energy than their incandescent counterparts.  Imagine if you tried to run a set of regular Christmas lights using solar power…they wouldn’t last very long!  The efficiency of LED lights makes solar powered lights practical, and, as LED lights continue to decrease in price, actually affordable.

Using solar powered lights provides two major advantages over regular Christmas lights: First, you don’t need to worry about finding an outlet or running extension cords to the places you want to have your lights…you can put them anywhere that will get a bit of sun!  Second, once you buy a set, you’ll never need to pay another cent for the electricity that you use to run them.  Once you’ve made your investment, you can enjoy them without worrying about running up your electricity bill!

Given these advantages, why not consider getting solar string lights to light up your holiday decorations this year?