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YULE TIDINGS Ashland gets the LED lights out More costly up front, new holiday lights cost less to use and last longer, saving money in the long run Comment By Julie Akin For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akin For the Tidings Posted Dec. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Julie Akin For the Tidings Posted Dec. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News You may not have noticed, but the holiday lights on Ashland’s City Hall building and on several of the trees on the plaza and wreaths around town are not like the others. Some 33,670 individual LED lights have replaced strings of incandescent bulbs. This technology is part of the city’s annual Festival of Lights and an effort to bring awareness to energy savings. “We wanted to take the lead on this” says Adam Hanks, a management analyst for the City of Ashland. You might not be able to tell the difference between these Light Emitting Diode’s, which are electrical only, and incandescent bulbs, which pass electricity through a filament which heats from electrical friction and causes lights to glow. That’s intentional. LED’s are meant to mimic the warm glow of other lights. But it hasn’t always been that way. This is the first time the city has switched out its holiday strands after considering it for several years. “We tried it three or four years ago and it cast a strange hue, sort of a bluish color so we switched it back,” according to Hanks. “The technology has really improved.” The city took the action to save on electricity and money in the long run. There was no immediate cost savings as the LED lights are more expensive initially, but Ashland officials say LED lights last longer and ultimately there will be savings from not having to replace them, as well as the energy savings. You save about 32 watts of energy for every 100 bulb string. Multiply that times thousands of lights and it starts to add up. But it’s not just money that motivated Ashland’s decision. According to Hanks, “Our objective was to save energy and promote the use of LED’s for the holidays as a lead in and reminder on the use and benefit of LED’s in Ashland homes, businesses and schools. While the holiday lights are only on for a short part of the season, home and business lighting typically uses much more energy, so there is much more savings to be had in the conversion to LED for home and business.” The city’s perspective is echoed throughout the state. The Oregon Department of Energy is encouraging consumers to consider LEDs in their decorations and the industry itself has been creating a wider spectrum of colors. Experts at the Energy Trust of Oregon, a Portland based nonprofit, encourage the move to LED light bulbs for lamps and lights around the house as a way of being more energy efficient. That’s really the goal of the City of Ashland as well. Hanks wants to mention that if anyone is looking for more ways to save energy for the holiday or any time of year, the city has a running list of tips at www.ashland.or.us/conserve or www.ashland.or.us/energytips . Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins is a journalism instructor at SOU and author of “Common Miracles: Gifts from a Grateful Universe.” Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ @julieakins. By Julie Akin For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akin For the Tidings Posted Dec. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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