Tis the Season
Christmas is the season of light, and this time of year those lights are popping up everywhere. While those lights take us back to our childhood, they also are an opportunity to reduce GHG Emissions.
As I reflect on my days in facility management, the weekend after Thanksgiving was a busy one. While our employees napped and filled their bellies with Turkey and Dressing, we were busy coordinating the installation of Christmas Lights and Decorations, so when everyone came to work on Monday, they were greeted with holiday cheer!
Honestly, at the time, I don’t think we gave much thought as to the lighting we were installing, but perhaps we should have. Just as lighting retrofits make financial and environmental sense for overhead lighting, the same can be said for holiday lighting. LED Christmas Lights use up to 90% less energy and last 25 times longer than incandescent Christmas Lights. These lights use light-emitting diodes instead of filament, so they don’t burn out, making maintenance once installed a bit easier.
One thing we tend to forget about, especially for indoor lighting, is the heat generated by the bulbs. I’m sure at some point in your life, you have touched an incandescent light shortly after it was shut off, and they are HOT! That poses a potential risk for real estate owners and managers who may have Christmas Trees or other displays at a level that little hands can touch. It also increases the risk of fire in cases where those lights may be placed in, on, or around combustible materials. (Hint: That real Christmas Tree is basically the equivalent of a bundle of kindling.)
That is where the conversation typically stops; they use less energy, are safer, and last longer. But could they also potentially be part of your GHG Emissions reduction strategy as well?
A 2008 paper published by the Department of Energy estimated that holiday lights accounted for 6.63 terawatt-hours of energy use per year in the United States. That amount of energy is the equivalent of the power consumers by 509,235 homes annually. Now keep in mind that this study was done when 95% of all Christmas lights were incandescent, but it also illustrates the amount of energy we would be using as a nation if none of us used LED lights.
Now let’s do some math…. A kilowatt (kW) is 1,000 watts, a megawatt (mW) is 1,000 kilowatts, a gigawatt (gW) is 1,000 megawatts, and a terawatt (tW) is 1,000 gigawatts. So in round numbers, the amount of electricity we use for Christmas Decorations is 331,500,000kilowatts. Assuming that Christmas lights are operated for 6 hours a day for 30 days (6hrs x 30days = 180 hours). Converting to kWh (E(kWh)=P(kW) x t (hrs): 59,670,000,000 kWh. Using the EPA online GHG calculator, that amount of kWh equals 4,228,708 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Now using 90% more efficient lights reduces that kWh to 33,150,000 kWh and reduces the greenhouse gas emissions to 422,871 metric tons per the EPA online calculator.
If you don’t want to nerd out on the math, that’s ok. But obviously, a reduction of 3,805,837 metric tons of greenhouse gasses merely by switching from incandescent Christmas lights to LED lights is pretty significant.
While a niche lighting source, the bottom line is every inch towards efficiency adds up. Even with more efficient LED lighting gaining a larger market share today, the amount of energy we use annually to power our holiday lights for 30 days or so is more energy than in some small countries.
When you are chasing those greenhouse reduction goals, you need to think holistically. The EPA has identified 12 different niche lighting applications where LED lights can help make a positive impact:
From these 12 niche applications, there is some pretty significant energy consumption, and in some of the larger applications, there is little to no LED market penetration. This likely means in your portfolio, you may have additional opportunities to reduce lighting loads, even if you have completed a typical lighting retrofit.
Take exterior lights, for example; since the study noted above, there has been some market penetration, but as of 2020, it was still only 14%. The United States is home to more than 40 million streetlights, not counting parking lot and other outdoor lighting areas.
The bottom line is this; we still have a lot of lighting opportunities in our portfolios. As you see those elves on ladders hanging the holiday lights, it should serve as a reminder. There is still work to be done. Here lies another opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and with an average ROI of 46% (Avg LED replacement of incandescent lighting systems), this one is a no-brainer.
One last thing, when you replace those lights, please do not throw them in the single-stream recycling bin. Often, programs can recycle them through special collection streams, but they will cause havoc for single-stream collections.
Options for safe recycling of those old holiday lights include:
Check with your local recycling centers - especially around the holidays; many have set up special collection points for holiday lights.
Donate them to thrift stores.
Check your local hardware stores - often, these stores have dropoff programs specifically set up for holiday light collection.
Contact your local solid waste office - another source that often sets up special collection programs around the holidays
You can help reduce the impact of the built environment by sharing this blog with your peers. Together we can impact the 39% of greenhouse gasses attributed to the built environment. It starts with awareness, and we succeed with teamwork.
Stay well!
Chris Laughman is the ThirtyNine Blog author, a blog dedicated to reducing the impact of the built environment. When not blogging, Chris is helping the real estate industry reduce energy and water impact as the Vice President of Sustainability for Conservice, the Utility Experts. Whether Multifamily, Single Family, Student Housing, Commercial, or Military, we simplify utility billing and expense management by doing it for you. Our insight into your utility consumption provides an opportunity to identify risks. Leveraging innovation and experience, we ignite solutions with real impacts and track performance to ensure the trendline stays laser-focused on the goal. At Conservice, we have developed a true bill-to-boardroom solution to help truly make a difference. We have before us a tremendous opportunity. Standing shoulder to shoulder, we will get this done. Contact me at claughman@conservice.com for more information.
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