LED Holiday Lights and other Green Decorating Ideas
November 27, 2009 by Kevin James
Filed under Green Holidays
Your Christmas decorations can be green and energy efficient. Christmas is almost here so it is time to put out the Christmas lights and put the home in a festive mood. There are lots of different holiday lights you can choose from. Here are some ways you can decorate your home and still be green.
Use natural holiday decorations: There are lots of holiday decorations that do not use electricity at all. You can make your home festive with live evergreen wreaths and other winter plants like holly bushes and mistletoe. Natural decorations are environmentally friendly, will not end up in a landfill and add an sophisticated touch to any house’s decor.
Use light-emitting-diode Christmas lights: LED (light-emitting-diode) Christmas decorations cost a little more to buy but they offer huge energy savings over incandescent light bulbs. You can save up to 60% on your electric costs for Christmas lights if you switch to LED decorations. Remember that there are many things to think about when buying LED Christmas lights. Some Christmas stores are trying out Christmas decoration trade-in programs to help entice people to switch to LED holiday lights.
Reuse lights you already own: By using holiday decorations again and again you are keeping lots of plastic out of your local landfill and being wise about using resources. Try to skip purchasing all new Christmas lights each year. One of the greatest ways to save money is to go shopping in your own closets!
Many of these green decorating ideas will put more “green” in your pocket that you can spend on holiday gifts! With a little thought you can decorate for the holidays and still be green. Remember that your actions now can be a perfect gift for tomorrow’s generations.
Want more great holiday decorating ideas and tricks? Check out our site for all sorts of diy home project articles for Christmas or any time of the year!
categories: LED,LED Christmas lights,christmas lights,energy saving,environment,christmas,decorating,holidays,green,money saving
The Benefit Of Using Solar Christmas Lights
November 11, 2009 by Steve Schafer
Filed under Alternative Power
Everybody enjoys Christmas. It is a time to get together happily with friends and family while avoiding the cold and dark outside. By putting up Christmas decorations and lights we create a beautiful atmosphere that people of all ages enjoy. Nowadays many families are worried about the rising cost of their electricity bills. To ensure that the Christmas season doesn’t unduly add to the burden, you can now install solar Christmas lights. Over the last couple of years these have found favor with many families throughout the country.
In appearance they look like ordinary Christmas lights. The difference is that they have a controller board that contains a battery linked to solar cells. From this the power is transmitted to each of the bulbs.
You may think that in winter time the sun is not strong enough to create enough energy to power even a small light but this is not true. Modern solar cells are very efficient even on an overcast day and as they transfer the energy to a battery you will have enough power even during the darkest nights.
There is another benefit to be had from using solar lighting apart from the financial savings. This is the knowledge that they are environmentally friendly; no fossil fuel will be burnt to power them.
Solar Christmas lights can be had in as many different varieties as ordinary Christmas lights. They come in many sizes, colors, designs, and styles. You can buy those that will be continuously on, or others that will twinkle like stars. The controller board will have settings on which you can fix the time that they will switch themselves on and turn themselves off.
The latest solar Christmas lights are safe to use inside and outside the home. If placed outside they can cope with any weather, but the battery and controller board must be kept protected from the rain. Such lights look magnificent when attached to porches and guttering as well as bushes and trees. Also they can be used for any occasions when decorations are needed like an anniversary or birthday.
Generally, solar Christmas lights come in two different forms – rope lights and string lights. Rope lights have a string of LEDs which are contained within a clear plastic tube. These are perfect for hanging around doors and windows. String lights do not have a tube and look magnificent on trees or hanging from a roof. They are a perfect addition to your Christmas decorations.
More more information on solar Christmas lights, check out Steve’s Solar Lights site at solarlightssite.com. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
How to Have a Green Holiday this Year
October 30, 2009 by Mickey Jacks
Filed under Green Holidays
A mountain of Christmas gifts and goods make their way out of and into homes each Christmas season. Regrettably, not long after the festivities subside, many of those well-meaning gifts move rapidly on to mounds of landfill.
Slowing the migration is as easy as setting your family the Green Christmas Challenge to send as little as possible to landfill this Christmas. Inspired by the target of a approximately empty wheelie bin, you will all make decisions that generate less waste.
Many actions help with celebrating a green Christmas, like opting for locally-grown foods to reduce food miles, switching to LED eco Christmas lights and donating gifts to charities. The massive amount of food, plastic and non-recyclable waste is the chief environmental problem, but it is a simple one for households to take on.
Sit the team down before Christmas and speak about methods of reuse, reduce and recycle. Here’s some ideas to get you started
Good for the environment plastic-free picnics
Disposable plastic plates and cups are created from petrochemicals, so pollution is made in their manufacture and when thrown-away they sit in landfill forever. Select reusable plates that you wash up or use palm leaf plates, a stylish plant alternative. They add a chic good for the environment style to your festive table and can be put onto your garden as mulch, instead of in the bin.
Trim a living tree When Santa arrives in his carbon-neutral sleigh, surprise him with a live Australian Wollemi pine tree. This recently discovered prehistoric tree is now for sale in nurseries. A potted Wollemi can grow with your family to be trimmed year after year. Or, why not a tradition to find a lovely Eucalyptus branch that can be composted when the Christmas festivities are over.
Wrap it again
A fantastic stretch the budget and save piles of waste is to wrap presents in newspaper, magazines and even junk mail. For kids use the comics, for car lovers use the motoring pages. wrapping, place gifts inside reusable shopping bags, or sew cloth bags from festive Christmas material that your family can re-tie with ribbon every year. For an extra special Green Christmas touch, Earth Greetings make pleasurable post consumer waste wrapping paper with Australian Christmas designs printed with vegetable inks.
Detour past the bin
Ask, is this Christmas gift end up in the bin within a few weeks? If yes, opt for something else. The old saying quality not quantity is a good friend of the planet. Even the cheapest items use the planet’s limited resources, energy and water to manufacture. Instead of buy a risky gift, consider a gift voucher or make a donation to a charity on behalf of the person. Should you receive an unsuitable gift, pass it straight on to a charity like the Salvos.
A green Christmas gift for your garden
Food scraps make up a huge portion of rubbish and once in landfill they generate methane, a concentrated greenhouse gas. Compost at home instead and turn leftovers into fertiliser for your garden. The Bokashi composting bin is a popular system that sits conveniently in your kitchen.
Packaging-free paradise
Picture a paradise where Christmas morning is free of mounds of discarded plastic packaging. It just takes a little bit more thought and effort. Locally made and hand-made Christmas gifts are to be over-packaged. A trip to the local Farmer’s Markets will also assist you stock up on fresh festive food with minimal packaging.
Rather than talking rubbish; this Christmas, your family will soon be asking is this for landfill, recycling or composting? And the joy of attaining your challenge will bring good tidings to all.
Biome Eco Stores is a chic retail outlet with a conscience. Firmly committed to eco friendly principles, Biome offers a unique and meaningful green Christmas collection for gifts and decoration.
