There are a variety of organizations that offer holiday waste control programs and we will see them starting to pop up on some of our favorite blogs and sites on the web in the upcoming months.  One such holiday program that I am involved in is the HolidayLEDs.com Christmas light recycling program.  This is our third year operating the program and we are looking forward to another successful year.  The program accepts all kinds of used incandescent Christmas lights for recycling. All those who participate receive a coupon for 15% off the purchase of energy efficient LED Christmas lights at HolidayLEDs.com.

In order to ensure that our program is as environmentally friendly as it can be we are asking participants to consolidate shipments of recycled lights with friends, family, members, church groups or other organizations.  Consolidating the shipments reduces the impact that shipping the lights to HolidayLEDs.com has on the environment.  We also encourage people to first look for local recycling solutions.

Our program is just one of several that will be offered this holiday season to help consumers reduce the amount of waste they create this holiday season.  Keep your eyes open for details on other programs that can help you reduce your footprint this holiday season.

Let’s use a simple example to illustrate this point.  A average size two store home that is decorated with 1000 C9 incandescent Christmas lights which are illuminated for 8 hours a day will consume about 40 KWh of electricity each day.  The total cost of operating these lights for a 30 day period would be about $115.00.  The same set up using a C7 LED replacement bulb would only consume about .48 KWh of electricity each day for a 30 day cost of only $1.37.  That is a total savings of over $100 in less than a month.

While someone using 1000 incandescent mini lights for the same amount of time during the holiday season would save a lot of energy and money by switching to LED Christmas lights, the savings are not nearly as substantial as in the example above.  The 1000 mini lights would consume about 120 KWh of power during the 30 day period while the LEDs would consume less than 15.  This is still 80% less power and money but as you can see the financial impact as not nearly as great as in the first example.

In the long run switching over to LEDs will make a big difference in holiday energy consumption no matter what type of incandescent lights you are replacing; however, if you have both C7 or C9 and mini lights and you can’t upgrade all of them at once it makes a lot of sense to start with the C7 and C9s.

If you like doing math feel free to follow the directions in my previous article–otherwise just try this Christmas light calculator.

1. Total # of bulbs;
2. Wattage of the individual individual incandescent bulbs to be replaced. (C9s are generally about 8-9 watts; C7s are generally about 6-7 watts; and mini lights are usually between .50 and 1 watt;
3. Amount of time bulbs will be illuminated; and
4. The average cost of a kilowatt hour of electricity in your area. ($.10 is typically a safe number.)

Step 1: Calculate total watts

Multiple the total number of bulbs by the wattage of 1 bulb. This equals the total watts of the display

Step 2: Enter data into conversion calculator

Enter the product of the formula in Step 1 into the “Watts” field in this calculator. Next, enter the total amount of time the lights will be illuminated in the “Time” section of the calculator. (Note that the time can be in seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, or years.)

This calculator will calculate the total kilowatt hours consumed by this lighting display.

Step 3: Determine cost of electricity

Multiple the total kilowatt hours the display will consume (as determined by the calculator in Step 2) and multiple it by the average cost of a kilowatt hour of electricity in your area. The Department of Energy website has statistics on the average cost of electricity.

Step 4: Determine to cost to operate Christmas lights using LEDs

Repeat steps 1-3. The average LED holiday style light is between .05 and .07 watts.

Step 5: Calculate the savings

Subtract the cost of operating the LED lights from the cost of operating the incandescent lights. This is the total cost savings you can expect by switching to LEDs.

Right now, HolidayLEDs.com is seeking suggestions for qualified charities. The site will be accepting suggestions for the next 14 days. All suggested charities who meet the minimum requirements will be placed on a ballot. Upon closing of the suggestion period, HolidayLEDs.com will conduct an online vote to determine which charity will receive the donation. The date for the official vote will be announced at a later date and will also be posted on this blog.

Please visit the site and suggest a worthy charitable organization.

Apparently, there was enough concern about this and our practices had a significant enough impact to warrant special consideration.  In 2002, the National Lawns and Environment Initiation was founded.  The goal of this initiative is to encourage environmentally responsible lawn care and landscaping practices in residential design and maintenance.  The initiative is run by a committee of governmental and non-governmental organizations including the EPA, USDA, the National Gardening Association, and the University of Florida.

The initiative has develop several useful resources for home owners and landscape professionals.  Particularly useful is the list of 10 Guiding Principles for Responsible Lawn Care and Landscaping.   I think this guide is the best place to start if you want to learn about some things you can do to minimize the impact your lawn care practices have on the environment.   The first guideline on the list is probably the most important.  The #1 guideline is to spend the time to learn about your lawn.  If you want to improve your practices to minimize their environmental impact you have to first understand the environment.

Take a walk around your yard.  Look carefully at the types of plants and wildlife inhabit your outdoor living space.  Try to identify all of the plants and do some simple online research to learn as much as you can about them.  Do the same for the wildlife that inhabits your yard.  Learn about what types of habitats the various creatures that live in your yard like.  All of these things will create a good foundation of knowledge that will help you make decisions about yard care that are both effective and not harmful to your environment.   I think it also makes sense to take a walk through the woods or other unimproved habitat closest your house.  Look around and observe the types of plants and animals that live in this natural environment.  Carefully analysis the habitat.  This information will help you create a lawn and landscape plan the fits into the natural environment.

Once you spent the time to learn about your yard go back to the guidelines and use them to help you prepare a plan for caring for your yard.  If you use a lawn care service make sure to discuss your plan with the company you use.  In many places there are lawn care and landscaping companies that specialize in environmentally friendly lawn care.  Seattle, San Francisco, and many of the other larger cities on the west coast have a number of companies that specialize in green lawn care.

We sent a free set of LED Christmas lights to the first 100 participants and the remaining participants who submitted their lights to us before January 31, 2008 will receive a coupon.   For those of you who participated, thank you for helping us make the program a success and you can expect your coupon to arrive via email or regular mail within the next month.

We are going to expand the program next year and substantially increase the number of sets we give away.  We are also looking for people or organizations who may be interested in participating in next years program.  We will be looking for groups willing to set up collection sites as well as sponsors who may be interested in helping us develop a Christmas light exchange program.   Please contact us if you or anyone you know may be interested.

So far the company reports that it has recycled over 3,000 pounds of incandescent holiday lights which it received from several hundred participants. Anyone who is looking for some place to send their old Christmas lights to die can mail them to HolidayLEDs.com for recycling.

And because I know it will be asked, the lights are sent to a independent recycling company which chops the lights into little tiny pieces using a commercial shredder. The various components (copper, PVC, glass, etc.) are separated and then processed. The lead is extracted from the PVC and shipped to Chinese toy manufacturers who use it to make paint for toys for children. I’m kidding. But I did read a report about a “recycling” company that was actually shipping the old light strings to China where the insulation was manually removed and the copper was extracted for smelting…not sure that this is a net gain.

There is one example in particular I think warrants recognition. We occasionally purchase shipping supplies from Uline because they offer next day shipping. Every time we order from them they send us a 1 inch thick glossy print catalog with our order. And just in case we lost the catalogs they sent us with our orders they kindly send us another one in the mail. Over the course of 4 months we collected about 50 pounds worth of catalogs from them. We never ordered from the catalog–we always ordered online. (Its almost as bad–if not worse–than the AOL CDs that used to be everywhere.)

We are considering adding a print catalog to our business this year but we are only going to send the hard copy upon specific request and where the customer can not be convinced to accept an electronic version. I also got a lot of other good tips from Ecowriter’s post about green ad materials so we’ll try to minimize our impact there too.

We are going to do what we can to minimize the ad waste that we create but we are also going to look for suitable alternative vendors who make reasonable efforts to do the same.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this issue while evaluating our companies’ recycling program and environmental policy. For the most part our programs have worked well and we’ve had a lot of participation within our organization and from our customers. I think a big part of the effort is just getting people in the mindset of looking for ways to conserve resources and produce less waste. However, I think that once an individual or organization has obtained this awareness it is important to shift focus and attention to refining the underlying processes and programs. For example, we are looking at implementing central collection points for our recycling program so the lights do not have to be mailed to us.

I use this example only because it is one that is familiar to me and to illustrate the point that we need to be cautious in evaluating the net impact of our efforts. This is not to say that we should over analysis this matter and waste untold resources trying to determine which option is more green. In some respects I think there is a substantial and immeasurable benefit to fostering a mindset in consumers towards environmental awareness–even if the net benefit is questionable.

We all need to develop an awareness of the impact our lives have on our environment and the cost of gaining this awareness may mean that some of our efforts fall short of a net environmental gain. However, it is important that we do not loose site of the ultimate objective during the development of this new awareness.

What surprised me about this was not that a corn by-product was a natural herbicide and also acted as a fertilizer; I was surprised that our patent law system allowed a Iowa State University researcher to patent the use of corn gluten as a herbicide. I understand the basic policy behind patent law: to encourage people to expend their time and energy developing new products by rewarding them with exclusive rights to the fruits of their labors for a period of years. This makes sense to me and I think it is generally a good system in most cases, but sometimes it just seems to go to far.

Take corn gluten for example, this is a product that has probably been around for thousands of years. People have used it for a number of different uses, the primary use being feed for livestock. Sometime in 1985, a scientist at Iowa State University is claimed to have discovered that the product can also be used as a herbicide. Shortly thereafter he filed for, and obtained, a patent for the use of corn gluten as a herbicide.

So I’m a little bit torn about this. The lawyer in me says, “well, without the protection of the patent law system Dr. Corn Gluten and Iowa State wouldn’t have any incentive to discover new uses for products and it may have never happened.” The normal person in me thinks, “what the fu@%!, its corn meal mush! How can you patent that?!” I understand the policy from an intellectual standpoint but is seems that in some cases (like this one) it goes a bit too far.

The part about this that I think most concerns me is that I’m not sure if the patent system actually achieves its intended result. At least in this case (and the case of my relative) the fact that the patent exists will likely prevent him from producing and selling corn gluten. I am sure there are several other potential marketers of this product who will be deterred from bringing a environmentally friendly alternative to toxic herbicides to market because they do not have the capital to pay Iowa State licensing fees to sell it.

I guess I’m still not entirely certain about how I feel about this. I guess there is just some part of me that feels like ti is unfair to let someone of exclusive rights to any use of something as common as corn. From a legal prospective, I think the fundamental flaw in our patent law system is that it assumes that the patent holder will do a good job of bring the product to market or finding those who will. That doesn’t always happen and as a result we are deprived of use of a valuable product until the patent expires.

One lesser know alternative to compact fluorescent lights for people looking for energy efficient replacement for their incandescent lights are LEDs or light emitting diodes. LEDs are very efficient as they waste very little energy on heat. LEDs can also easily be recycled and contain no toxic components. LED lights will also outlive even a compact fluorescent lamp by thousands of hours. The downside is that LEDs are still a bit expensive and the technology has not developed entirely so that it is a suitable alternative to incandescent or fluorescent.

However, it has been effectively adapted and applied to lighting applications such as Christmas lights, rope light, and landscape lights. The technology for use of LEDs has been developed well for use in these applications and the cost of these products in an LED is still higher than incandescent but is not unreasonable given the cost savings.

LED alternatives are also available for other lighting types as well. LED replacement bulbs are currently available for MR-16 type lamps that are commonly used in track lighting. LED lamps for the common PAR style bulb are also now available online but have not made it into big box stores and do not quite pack the same punch as their incandescent ancestors.

Lots of cool things are happening in lighting and most of us don’t get exposed to all the options because they haven’t hit the big box stores yet. However, if you do a little research and look around a bit online you can find some great lighting solutions that are more efficient than CFLs and better for the environment too.

One common area we can all seek to improve our impact is lawn care and landscaping.  For many suburbanites the absolute goal of the summer is to have a lawn that is greener than the Jones’ at all costs.  So each spring we can find an army of suburbanites dumping pounds of harmful chemicals and nitrates on their lawns.  I’m sure that most of these well-meaning home owners have not considered the cost and impact their ultra-green lawn has on the environment at large–and it is probably not feasible to try and convince them.  The better solution is to teach them how to achieve maximum greeness and neighborhood domination without the use of harmful chemicals.

The recent revival of the environmental movement has spurred the growth of a cottage industry of green lawn care companies.   This movement, largely pioneered by Seattle landscape companies and other progressive landscape companies has been gaining traction.

“This is not something that is driven by the marketing efforts of landscape and lawn care companies,” said Andy Nicholls of Ecoyards, LLC based in Seattle, Washington, “this is driven by a very strong consumer demand for environmental responsibility in all services and goods.”

Environmentally sustainable lawn care can be as simple as recycling rainwater for irrigation; use of natural pesticides; and implementation of a compost program.

“We are very excited about the new Lizard Lighting line of LED landscape lights,” said Andy Nicholls,  a landscape contractor and owner of Ecoyards.  In response to customer demand, many landscaping companies, like Ecoyards, are focusing on environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional landscaping and yard care practices.  “I had the opportunity to see the new LED lights by Lizard Lighting and they are impressive.” added Nicholls.  “There are some LED products on the market now but this is the first product I’ve tested that has light output that meets that of a halogen lamp,” Nicholls concluded.

The Lizard Lighting LED landscape lights utilize state-of-the-art LED technology which can produce 100 lumens per watt or more.  Unlike a traditional incandescent lamp or halogen lamp which produces a tremendous amount of heat, the LED lamp produces very little heat as all of its energy is directly transformed into light.  Additionally, the solid state LED lamp contains no fragile filament and is therefore much more resistance to shock and other impact damage.  “When you have a solid-state lamp with no fragile components that produces less heat you end up with a light source that will last a very long time,” said Michael J. O’Connor, co-owner of LizardLighting.com.  Lizard Lighting’s LED landscape lights are rated to last for 60,000 hours or more.

Lizard Lighting’s ecommerce store will be open March 2008 and will offer a full line of LED low voltage landscape lighting and solar landscape lights.

http://www.star-telegram.com/home/story/391757.html

There was also a big push this year to switch to LED Christmas lights. The push to switch to a new technology caused many to wonder what should be done with their old incandescent Christmas lights. HolidayLEDs.com is offer to recycle old incandescent Christmas lights until January 31, 2008.

This holiday season don’t forget all the rules and try to pay attention to the waste you are creating and make an effort to reduce it.  This year at my house wrapping paper won’t be allowed except for my 3 year old daughter (and her wrapping paper will be newspaper or something like that.)  We’ll also be buying a Christmas tree that is in a pot so we can plant it in the yard in the spring.  And we’ll be recycling our old incandescent Christmas lights (the copper is actually worth something) and replacing them with energy-efficient Christmas lights that use LEDs.

LED Xmas lights use about 85% less energy than standard incandescent lights and will last for more than 50,000 hours.  Even Clark Griswold can save money and energy with these lights.

We also consume a great amount of energy. This is partly because this is one of the darkest times of year but its also because people are using more electricity to light up their homes with holiday decorations. Incandescent Christmas lights are inefficient and won’t last very long. They also break very easily. LED technology has found its way into the world of Christmas lights and is much more efficient. Specifically, LED Christmas lights use about 90% less energy than standard incandescent lights and will last for more than 50,000 hours. The bulbs are also covered with a durable epoxy plastic so they won’t break.

This year pay attention to you consumption during the holidays and do what you can to reduce your energy consumption.

HolidayLEDs.com, a new ecommerce company located in Michigan which specializes in energy-efficient LED holiday lighting, is offering a discount on its LED holiday lights to customers of all U.S. utility companies. “LED holiday lights can have an astounding impact on holiday energy consumption and we want to give our nation’s utility companies a tool to help encourage their customers to make the switch,” said Philip C. Curtis, co-owner of HolidayLEDs.com. HolidayLEDs.com is offering a 10% discount to all customers of participating U.S. utility companies on its full line of LED holiday lights.

LED Christmas lights have been commercially available for about 5 years now but most people still purchase and use standard incandescent lights. LED holiday lights are 80-99% more efficient than standard incandescent lights and will last for more than 50,000 hours. “These lights last so long most people will not have to replace them in their lifetime,” added Curtis. In a recent report by the Environmental Protection Agency, it was determined that Americans consume about 2220 GWh of electricity during the estimated 30 day holiday season with incandescent holiday lights. The report concluded that a mere 20% shift to LED Christmas lights would save more than 440 GWh of electricity each year.

Energy-efficiency and longevity are not the only benefits of LED Christmas tree lights. “Our lights are extremely durable and can literally withstand the force of a full-sized truck,” said Curtis. The LED technology also produces light by an entirely different method which results in a safer holiday light. “Incandescent bulbs produce light by heating up a conductive filament until it glows.” explained Curtis. “In contrast, an LED directly produces light and very little heat is created,” Curtis added. In fact, LEDs produced so little heat that they remain cool to the touch even after hours of operation. This feature makes them more attractive and safe for typical holiday applications.

Interested utility companies can contact HolidayLEDs.com for more information about the program which is set to launch November 1, 2007 and will conclude on December 23rd. Anyone interested in purchasing LED Christmas lights can do so at HolidayLEDs.com.

If we did the same thing with incandescent lights it would draw over 1700 watts of electricity.

Now that they are up we are going to test their longevity. We are going to ask our friend Dave (or the Selling Machine as we call him) to leave them on 24/7/365 and see how long they will last. I’ll let you know if they are still burning next year at this time.

I live in Michigan and our Governor has been paying a lot of lip service to environmentally-friendly practices and energy-conservation and so has our regional utility, Consumers Energy. However, that’s about it. The same thing is also going on in Seattle.

Recently, Consumers announced it will build a new 800 megawatt coal buring power plant near Bay City Michigan. A Consumer’s spokes person said the plant will have lower emissions than existing plants. This isn’t impressive. The spokes person also stated that wind and solar were not economically viable options for Consumers.
The problem that I have with Consumer’s economic analysis of this matter is that it does not seem to take into consideration the environmental cost of the pollution the coal burning plant will generate. I haven’t seen the financial plans for this new plant but I doubt this cost is considered in the analysis. What Consumers and other utility companies should say is that coal plants are more lucrative for them because they don’t have to pay for any of the environmental costs.
I am sure that wind and solar will eventually become more cost-effective even if one does not consider the environmental costs of operating a power plant. However, in the meantime wouldn’t it make sense to place an operating tax of some sort on power plants that would be commensurate to the level of pollution they create? This seems more reasonable than requiring us to give up our clean environment as a subsidy to the utility companies.
Besides, there will never be any incentive for consumers to reduce their energy consumption if the true cost of the power is not reflected in the cost consumer’s actually pay.