!#5: Get Cheap Tree Lights Outdoor: December 2011

!±8± Christmas Solar Lights - Four Reasons to Switch From Traditional Holiday Lights

Why would anyone dump their traditional outdoor Christmas lights in order to buy more expensive Christmas solar lights? Actually there are a number of good reasons to consider photovoltaic Christmas lights.

1. Lights can be used in remote locations without access to electricity

First, maybe traditional Christmas lights will not work in your situation. I started using solar Christmas decorations because I had no access to electricity on my property near the road where I wanted to decorate. The house and the one source of electricity is a football field length or more off the main road. That made the use of extension chords impractical. I was excited when I found a solution to my dilemma. I purchased several strands of string (or fairy) lights and a set of spotlights. I strung the lights along a fence, intertwined with garland. Then I placed a wreath on the fence post and used the spotlights to illuminate it. I was pleased with the results, especially since I was now able to decorate where it had not been possible before.

2. Safety advantages over traditional holiday lights

Safety is another good reason to use solar powered Christmas lights. These units are powered by batteries recharged by the sun. As a result, they are very low voltage with some strands being as low as 1.3 volts. If the insulation on the wiring breaks there is little chance of a major shock or electrocution. On the other hand, traditional incandescent holiday lights use household voltage which can cause severe even fatal shocks.

Because these sun powered lights are actually light emitting diodes or LEDs, they remain cool to the touch. The heat from them will not spark fires if paper or dry leaves ends up in contact with them for an extended period of time.

These Christmas solar lights have their own power source in the form of a solar panel and battery which means you will not need extension chords run across your lawn. Extension chords can be frayed, they can be cut and they can short out.

3. No electricity costs

Did you know that traditional incandescent lights use a great deal of electricity? One strand of 100 count traditional holiday lights may use as much as 90 kilowatts or more in a season. That is as much energy as most houses uses in three days. If you pay 10 cents per kilowatt hour then that single strand will cost you .00 per season. Fortunately, your strands of photovoltaic powered lights will not cost you any additional for electricity.

4. Good environmental choice

Christmas decorations powered by the sun are beneficial to the environment. All of those traditional lights that you see in people's yards have to get their electricity from somewhere. If those lights are powered by a fossil fuel burning plant, then they are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Many scientists believe that the emission of large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere causes global warming by creating an insulating layer in the atmosphere that prevents heat from the sun from radiating back into space. This causes an increase in the Earth's temperature.

Coal fired power plants emit 2.3 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere for every kilowatt produced. That means the 90 kilowatts used by a strand of traditional lights during the holiday season will result in the emission of 207 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Lights powered by a photovoltaic panel will not release any carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

These are some excellent reasons to get rid of the traditional, inefficient, incandescent Christmas decorations. Consider using Christmas solar lights this year to save energy, reduce pollution, improve safety and transform remote outdoor spaces into festive locations.