Light It Up

Try LED holiday lights this season. LED stands for light-emitting diode. Here's why:

· LED bulbs use 90% less electricity than traditional holiday bulbs.
· With their 20-year lifetimes, you don't have to replace LED light-strings as often as conventional ones.
· Burning 10 strands of lights with 100 lights per strand, eight hours per day for a month costs $175 for incandescent bulbs vs. about $1 for LED mini-bulbs.
· Incandescent lights give off as much as 90% of their energy as heat, leading to fire concerns. LEDs barely warm up.

Here’s where you can get them:

HomeDepot
Brookstone LED Mini-Ice Lights - small white or multicolored lights; 24-ft strands ($20).
Forever Lights - pinecone-esque colored or white bulbs; 24-ft small-bulb strand, 16-ft large-bulb ($19-$29).