Festive bulbs use huge amounts of energy

Christmas Lights

A new report from the Center for Global Development in Washington D.C. says that holiday lights in the United States use more electricity than some entire countries use in a year.

According to the center’s research, holiday lights in the U.S. consume 4.48 billion kilowatt hours every year, compared to 4.24 billion kilowatt hours used for the entire year in Laos, 3.94 billion kilowatt hours in Nepal, 3.01 billion kilowatt hours in Senegal, 2.94 billion kilowatt hours in Uganda, and 1.97 billion kilowatt hours in Malawi.

Statistics used by the center on U.S. holiday light estimates are a 2008 U.S. Department of Energy report adjusted for efficiency gains from LED market penetration growth from 5 percent to an estimated 50 percent.

The report did not include estimates of energy use in Alaska, where many people traditionally leave their holiday lights on until the last musher has crossed the finish line in Nome for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in mid-March.

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