Holiday spirits are bright with either kind of light

As holiday festivities prompt decking of halls and stringing of lights, energy-conscious merry-makers may wonder just how much electricity it takes to be so jolly.

The answer is, some, but not as much as it once did, thanks to light-emitting diode, or LED, lights, which use 87 percent less energy than traditional incandescent Christmas lights.

Even so, some Houston residents still opt for the lower upfront investment of old-fashioned incandescent lights, both for economic and aesthetic reasons.

"I'm putting up the regular Christmas lights," said Glen Sementelli, who lives in Woodland Heights, northwest of downtown. "I haven't gotten to the LED lights yet. Even the older-style Christmas lights don't draw all that much amperage. I figure it's something you do, and it costs you a couple of extra dollars."

Running 10 strings of 25 conventional lights every night for five hours would cost $1.02 per night, while the LED lights would cost 14 cents per night, based on an electricity price of 11.7 percent kilowatt-hour - the average price according to the most recent U.S. Energy Department data.

That added efficiency carries an upfront cost. A pack of 25 C9 incandescent clear 7-watt bulbs costs $4.39 at 1000bulbs, while the same package of LED bulbs is priced at $32.30, but each bulb uses less than 1 watt to run.

Another consideration is the traditional look of incandescent bulbs.

"We wanted a simple elegance, a very nice lighting, not flashy," said Tom Hennen, who has decorated his Houston-area yard with holiday decorations that include 625 incandescent lights. "The lights have a soft yellowish-gold glow to them."

Celeste and Ralph Long, who live near Katy and make big-time decorating part of their holiday tradition, agree that LED lights have a different look, so they concentrate them in one portion of their yard display.

They've been converting to LED lights as incandescent bulbs and strings burn out, and now have about an equal number of each.

"LED lights are really bright, in some ways they are almost too bright, but I think they show up well and the colors are rich," Celeste Long said. "They do really make it bright. The regular white lights, it's a very different color from the LED lights."

Their Christmas "yardscape" ranges from an inflatable Santa and reindeer on the roof to light-wrapped trees.

"Any sort of branch on every tree that could support lights, has lights on it," Celeste Long said.

Chad Wilson, who owns Houston-based Christmas Lights Installed, said LED lights are just starting to catch on with his customers. Wilson, who has been installing lights professionally for eight years, said only about 10 percent of his clients use LED lights, because of their higher upfront cost and less conventional look. The higher cost can be harder to justify for the short holiday season than when selecting year-round light bulbs.

"LED lights are going to be the most energy-efficient lights, but you are going to pay for them," Wilson said. "They are made of ceramic glass. They don't break that often, unlike the glass ones, but you get a different look. For a more traditional style, I would want the glass lights on my house."

Celeste Long said she doesn't pay much attention to incremental power bill changes in December.

"It's nothing that makes it prohibitive," she said. "The tricky part is to get it all hooked up and not blow a bunch of breakers."

It turns out LED lights can help with that, too. Because they consume less power, LEDs used in large displays are less likely to require special wiring or installation of circuit break subpanels, which can cost up to $2,000, said Tim Hunter, owner of Christmas Lights Up Texas.