US Christmas lights use more energy than entire countries

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Agence France-Presse

US Christmas lights use more energy than entire countries
December 23, 2015

American household Christmas lights, a favorite holiday tradition, use up more electricity than some poorer countries—such as El Salvador or Ethiopia—do in a year.

Bright lights strung on American trees, rooftops and lawns account for 6.63 billion kilowatt hours of electricity consumption every year, according to a recent blog post by the Center for Global Development.

That's more than the national electricity consumption of many developing countries. El Salvador for one, uses 5.35 billion kilowatt hours, while Ethiopia consumes 5.30 billion and Tanzania 4.81 billion.

The researchers, Todd Moss and Priscilla Agyapong, used data from a 2008 US Department of Energy report and the World Bank to carry out their research.

Read more: http://phys.org/news/2015-12-christmas-energy-entire-countries.html#jCp

[KentuckyWoman]

1. I wonder

how much electricity the DU burns up in a year.

Between all the servers and connected devices.....

[Judi Lynn]

15. Could be, if we didn't come to DU we'd be driving our hot cars around, cruising, hangin' out,

doing street racing, attending truck pulling contests, burning up far MORE energy than you could shake a stick at!

Or maybe not.

The trolls would be out burning crosses, of course, desecrating ethnic religious buildings, and peeping in windows, etc.

[trillion]

95. Some electricity use is good

I don't think we have to live in the stone age. Just be responsible with use.

[Purveyor]

2. Odd around here this year (mid-michigan) as not that many

people decorated and it couldn't have been because of the weather.

Our flagpole is having it 46th year of being taken down and wrapped in lights.

[Andy823]

6. Maybe

The all converted to Jehovah's witnesses?

[Purveyor]

10. Just glancing over at the pile of christmas receipts we have accumulated, I just might

have to consider that...

[rpannier]

21. Sounds like the War on Christmas has hit the person's area

Culture warrior shill o'lielly will be on it

[xfundy]

3. L.E.D. lights?

I've been told they use only 7cents a year. Was I lied to? (Wouldn't be the first time.)

[restorefreedom]

28. this article gives a good comparison

basically, led costs more upfront but saves a lot of electricity.

http://www.christmasdesigners.com/much-electricity-led-christmas-lights-use/

[msongs]

4. beats spending that $$ on those pesky poor, hungry, and/or homeless people nt

[Herman4747]

39. Aw, Helping the poor isn't the "True Christmas Spirit" ...

...Christmas lights and warming the globe are more important -- don't you know?

[GGJohn]

42. How the hell do you know that most of us don't do both?

You know, both can be done, I read it somewhere.

[Herman4747]

45. Money spent on Christmas lights is money NOT

...going to the poor.
I hope you are capable of understanding that.

You have your priorities. I am grateful that mine are different.

And Christmas lights do use electricity -- did you know that?

[GGJohn]

47. I spend MY, yes, MY money on both.

No shit Christmas lights use electricity.

I'm glad my priorities are different from yours.

[yeoman6987]

57. So with that rationale, you should not be using a computer because that money you spent

Should have gone to the poor.

[Travis_0004]

60. You are choosing to browse DU

That is money spent in electricity that is not going to the poor.

[Marengo]

68. Your priorities are in apparent need of examination...

The energy and time you dedicated establishing your superior priorities could have been better used to assisting those in need.

[EX500rider]

70. So is money spend on TV's,Computers, BluRays, dinner out etc..

[FrodosPet]

82. Same thing with marijuana

Imagine if all the money spent buying marijuana, beer, alcohol, etc was spent on feeding the poor. Then, no one would have to go hungry.

And if all that electricity was not spent on grow lights, fans, and water pumps to grow marijuana at commercial quality and volume, think of the greenhouse gasses that would not be released.

[Adrahil]

88. Some of you folk are serious killjoys...

I've donated hundreds of dollars to charities this season. Forgive me if I choose to spend $20-$30 on electricity for my lights. I suppose you object to decadent parties too.

[Herman4747]

92. It is NOT up to me to forgive you.

The dollars that you throw away to see lights that you have seen before are not the major issue. No, the major issue is that until priorities truly change, people like you will continue to use more electricity usage than ENTIRE countries in your celebrations, this despite the damage that global warming will cause.

[Adrahil]

99. Whatever. Happy Holidays. My lights are on, btw. Nt

[JustAnotherGen]

102. Pssst - so are mine

[rockfordfile]

98. Well I'm a atheist, and I try to help people year around

Well I'm a atheist, and I try to help people year around. No one day of the year or have to put lights on my house for a fictional character.

I just do it.

[GGJohn]

100. I never said I help those in need just one day, I do it year round with not just money,

but I also help in other ways, like providing meat that we hunt, fresh fruits and veggies that we grow, eggs from our chickens, money isn't the only way to help the needy.

[cantbeserious]

76. Such Pessimism

eom

[PSPS]

5. What a silly article

El Salvador has 6 million people and 93% electrification.
Ethiopia has 93 million people and 26% electrification.
Tanzania has 49 million people and 15% electrification.

So, what is this silly article supposed to tell people? Are people in the US supposed to feel "guilty" because they put up christmas lights?

[snappyturtle]

8. Bingo! I will NOT feel guilty about Christmas lights. I binge at

Christmas-time. Love it. I friend of mine in an old western suburb of Chicago went out last weekend to view the lights. She has lived in the same location for 51 years and has never seen as many lights as this year! Spending is down in buying Christmas presents but maybe people are more willing to spend some on lighting. I think it's great.

[cantbeserious]

20. Riddle Us This - Why Should Americans Get A Pass On Climate Change Inducing Sparkling Lights

eom

[snappyturtle]

30. Nope...not feeling guilty. I use all LED and have recycled everything the

recycle center takes for 25 years. I drive less than 1200 miles ANNUALLY. I can't make my footprint any smaller.

Have to ask how you feel about the White House Christmas display? or the MIC? or the excessive travel of politicians? Sparkling lights make me feel good....damn few things do that for me these days. My <30 day use of lights is not troublesome to me.

[cantbeserious]

32. So LED Lights Gives One A Pass - Pretty Sad - That Thinking Will Doom America

eom

[snappyturtle]

35. Well if that upsets you this will really upset you.

I'm looking for a source to pump more CO2 into my greenhouse next growing season.

Doom America! LOL! I'M a lot more worried about WW3 and that little incident that occurred in Japan in 2011.

[cantbeserious]

51. Well Thinking Small - Leads To - Small Perspectives

eom

[DisgustipatedinCA]

90. I've thought about doing CO2, but my...um...vegetables are doing just fine without it so far.

I'm about to flip my vegetables to 12/12, and so far, so good. I'm planning on the "12 on" being at night in the summer. Hopefully that will keep me from having to consider either CO2 or portable AC.

[Adrahil]

83. Should we all wear hair shirts too?

The world will never be perfect. We can work for change, and still have some fun.

And yes, replacing incandescents with LEDs significantly reduces energy consumption.

[cantbeserious]

85. Using Lights At Night Unnecessarily - Contributes To Light Pollution And Global Climate Change

eom

[Adrahil]

87. Hey, do what you want. I'll do the same. Happy Holidays! nt

[DisgustipatedinCA]

91. It's necessary for some of us to use lights at night.

Your view on the matter may be too narrow.

[Herman4747]

40. During World War 2, FOOD WAS RATIONED...

...and sacrifices were great.
And you can't even go without damn Christmas lights, to make life brighter for future generations????
You've seen Christmas lights before -- do you truly need to see them again? Why can't you simply move on? If you need to visualize Christmas lights, it uses far less energy to use your memory!

[GGJohn]

44. As a matter of fact,

yes, yes I do truly need to see Christmas lights.

[Herman4747]

46. Sad to hear that your capacity to visualize...

...Christmas lights is just not up to the task.

[GGJohn]

48. Oh but you're wrong,

I do visualize them quite well, I flip a few switches and, voila, I visualize our Christmas lights very well.

[NYC Liberal]

59. Pretty sure the computer you're typing on uses far more energy

than some Christmas lights. That's not even factoring in the energy used by all the massive data centers and servers used to host all the websites you visit. And the energy used by your ISP to connect your computer to those servers.

Here's a tiny section of one of Google's data centers:



Think about that every time you do a simple Google search.

So why don't you toss your computer out? Our ancestors got along fine without computers and the Internet.

[Herman4747]

64. Why don't you get rid of YOUR computer...

...if it is so bad? WELL, what's your answer???
The computer is a means to communicate. With 17,000 more posts than me (and a hell of a lot more Internet time and electricity usage as a result), I would guess that you see tremendous value in communication, am I right? But what exactly do your Christmas lights communicate? Do they tell the world that you don't give a damn about global warming?

And do you truly think are ancestors got along just splendidly without computers? Is it just possible that the computer and the internet have improved life for humanity? What do you think?

What's next -- are you going to argue that we should get rid of bicycles, because it uses energy to produce them?

Please spare us all of your specious arguments.

[GGJohn]

65. ....

But what exactly do your Christmas lights communicate? Do they tell the world that you don't give a damn about global warming?

My Christmas lights tell the world that I love Christmas time, they convey to my neighbors, family, friends that I love to decorate our home for the holiday, that I love the Christmas spirit.

Don't like it? Tough, don't decorate your own home, but don't tell others what to do.

[GGJohn]

66. ....

Please spare us all of your specious arguments.

Please spare us all of your faux outrage.

[NYC Liberal]

67. I'm not the one arguing against the energy usage of Christmas lights.

I think they are fine and so are computers.

YOU are the one going haranguing people about using some Christmas lights. You are so concerned about Christmas lights but not about things which uses thousands of times more energy.

And by the way, life would be pretty damn dull if we all used only what was absolutely needed to survive.

[Herman4747]

69. So maybe your claim that:

"Our ancestors got along fine without computers and the Internet." (YOUR OWN WORDS) was just a little bit off, given that you now declare that "life would be pretty damn dull if we all used only what was absolutely needed to survive." What do you think?

Evidently, you need to see Christmas lights over and over and over again for them to have some sort of beneficial effect for you. No, you can't just remember what you saw before, you need to see them again. In the 2nd World War, food was rationed and soldiers gave their lives so that Fascism could be curtailed. But you won't even give up Christmas lights so that global warming could be curtailed.

Sigh.

[EX500rider]

72. Yes because THAT'S the major cause of warming-XMAS lights!! lol

No even a blip on the C02 scale.

[LanternWaste]

105. If I indicted others for the same actions I engages in, I rationalize my behavior too.

If I indicted others for the same actions I engages in, I rationalize my behavior too. It's ethically convenient to hold others to a higher standard than we hold ourselves to.

[GGJohn]

43. Riddle us this-Why should be care what you think?

I, for one, love Christmas lights and we decorate our home to the nines.
Don't like it? Tough.

[cantbeserious]

50. Riddle Me This - Why Should Anyone Care What You Think

eom

[GGJohn]

52. I never said anyone should care what I think,

as nobody should give 2 damns what you think.

[cantbeserious]

54. Nighty, Nighty - Sweet Dreams

eom

[GGJohn]

55. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

[Travis_0004]

61. Because i dont give a damn

I like christmas lights, Im going to use them. I suppose if I wanted to be perfect and never harm the environment I could live in a grass hut.

You first. Then complain about my Christmas lights.

FYI, replying to this post will use electricity and cause more global warming.

[cantbeserious]

75. Clearly

eom

[EX500rider]

71. Yes we should all wear gunny sacks & walk 5 miles to work...lol

[cantbeserious]

77. Such Pessimism

eom

[EX500rider]

103. I'm not the pessimistic one..I don't think the world is going to hell in a handbasket due to xmas..

...lights.

[Judi Lynn]

17. Maybe the stupid journalist was thinking in terms of energy used for non-essential purposes.

It's pretty likely there isn't a lot of money spent for things like this in poor countries, even if they were able to get electricity everywhere. They still couldn't possibly afford it.

[EX500rider]

73. Maybe some of those poor countries didn't get your meme...

Central America:

[dlwickham]

22. yes they are

[Herman4747]

37. In answer to your 2nd question - a resounding YES!!!

Don't do it. You've all seen Christmas lights before. You don't need to experience them again.
Try to think about future generations, instead of yourselves.

[LeftyMom]

7. With the LED lights on I don't need the porch and walkway lights.

I'm sure it amounts to about the same usage as having those on in the evenings the rest of the year. I can't really avoid some sort of outdoor lighting, I have a weird walkway and I don't want somebody wandering off of it and hurting themselves or squashing my landscaping.

[Herman4747]

36. And how on earth did our ancestors...

...ever get by without porch, walkway, or Christmas lights?

[LeftyMom]

49. They were a bit busy dying of childhood diseases, minor injuries, malnutrition and tooth decay.

They just didn't go outside after dark when they could avoid it for fear of injury, evil spirits or wolves.

I don't much care to emulate any of their lifestyle, and I'd appreciate your keeping fallacious arguments from nature to yourself, thank you.

[johnp3907]

62. Well said!

This is one of the best replies I've ever seen on DU!

[yeoman6987]

58. You are destroying the earth with your computer usage

Why don't you care about the future generations. Your priorities stink like the rest of us.

[chapdrum]

79. Indeed, and might I add

How did we get along without "mini"vans and SUV's?

Must've have been sheer hell.

[Adrahil]

84. or antibiotics, or X-ray machines, or polio vaccines....

... the world moves forward.

[FailureToCommunicate]

9. And then of course, the energy consumed by our military bases all over the world...

[restorefreedom]

29. bam! nt

[FLPanhandle]

11. WTF is the comparison to Ethiopia?

Stupid article.

[JI7]

12. how about compared to canada, western europe , australia etc ?

[LiberalElite]

13. I have two strings of lights outside and I donate to an organization that.

among other projects, provides solar powered flashlights to people in the Third World. It's called Sourcepoint Global Outreach. Check out the photos that show people who are absolutely thrilled to receive these flashlights. It's life changing for them.

http://sourcepointglobaloutreach.org/how-you-can-help/

[Judi Lynn]

18. Never heard of this organization before seeing your post. What a wonderful cause.

Nothing else could mean that much for people who really live in darkness, considering how much of each day is dark.

Would mean far more than people in our culture realize.

[LiberalElite]

19. I don't recall how I learned about this organization

but to see the recipients looking so happy to own something so simple really makes one think about what we take for granted. I live in NYC and of course there are lights all over the place. Like many other cities, we have light pollution and can't see more than a few stars at night. Heck, I have light-blocking shades so I can sleep better.

[Duckhunter935]

14. switched to all led

Look better and much less lectricity

[truthisfreedom]

16. Well, compare that to our renewable energy generation per year and per December in 2014.

El Salvador uses 5.35 billion kilowatt hours per year, which is the same as 5.35 trillion watt-hours.

The US generated 44,950 "thousand megawatt hours" of renewable energy (NOT gas, NOT nuclear, NOT coal, and certainly NOT diesel) in December 2014, which is the same as 44.95 trillion watt-hours. So we generated close to 9 times as much "renewable" energy in December as they used for a whole year.

I'm not saying that we're being responsible with our energy. I AM saying that we're making a pretty serious effort to generate a substantial amount of renewable energy compared to other countries, and that sort of offsets the fact that we waste so much.

Just solar alone during 2014: We generated 9.5 trillion watt-hours of completely clean sunlight energy, more than double what El Salvador used per year. That's pretty significant, and those numbers are going up dramatically every year.

We're not evil. We just like to use lots of power.

On edit: My source:

http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_1_01_a

[GGJohn]

23. Yeah? So what?

[Nihil]

24. That's basically how the US acts about climate change too.

Maybe the point of the OP is that it is pathetic how much electricity (= money = resources = pollution)
is regularly wasted by the privileged few on such a trivial & pointless purpose ...?

[GGJohn]

25. Only the privileged few put up Christmas lights?

[Nihil]

26. Comparatively speaking (i.e., with reference to the OP article), yes. (n/t)

[GGJohn]

27. So only Americans put up Christmas lights?

No other citizens in other countries put up Christmas lights?

[FrodosPet]

53. Christmas lights can be beautiful

Aesthetic joy is not pointless. A child's amazement is not pointless.

[Herman4747]

38. From you, that response doesn't surprise me. nt

[GGJohn]

41. Yeah? So what?

[ProfessorGAC]

106. GGJ

You and i disagree on things but on this one, i got your back.

This guilt tripping is a pointless exercise in faux superiority. It's just playing "hipper than thou".

The minimal difference in electricity we use by turning off the porch light and having the christmas lights, on a timer, for 6 hours a night is not worth the hang wringing in this thread.

I'm with you all the way on this one.

[GGJohn]

107. hanks ProfessorGAC

appreciate that and you have a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

[Nye Bevan]

31. Since switching to LED my power consumption went way, way down. (nt)

[Judi Lynn]

33. In Idaha, ya git yer Christmas lights on yer tank!

[center]

Idaho state veteran home democrate army tank with christmas snata and christmas lights and infron of home 18 Dec.[/center]

[center]



[/center]
More lights at google images:

https://www.google.com/search?q=usa+home+christmas+lights&biw=1482&bih=693&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiywrWYxvXJAhWG6iYKHTWgCpsQ_AUIBigB&dpr=0.9#imgrc=_

[Liberal_in_LA]

34. But they are so pretty. Every third house has lights up in my suburban neighborhood

[tblue37]

56. And it is now common for many to leave their lights up year round.

Not the super decorations, but many houses keep their yard trees draped in lights and their roof line strung also.

[Turbineguy]

63. Our Christmas tree lights use more

than North Korea.

[FrodosPet]

86. But they are much happier than us

They TRULY rejoice upon the anniversary of their dear savior's birth.

[potone]

74. Can't we have just one day to be happy?

I am sure that there are many things that we do that waste energy, but for heaven's sake it's Christmas! Cut us a little slack, please!

[Vogon_Glory]

78. Et Alors? N/t

[warrprayer]

80. bah humbug! nt

[ileus]

81. Oh the guilt...how will I ever live with myself.

[Judi Lynn]

89. Which burns more kilowatt-hours: America's Christmas lights or Tanzania?

Which burns more kilowatt-hours: America's Christmas lights or Tanzania?
By The guardian reporter
26th December 2015

A headline for a chart caught our eye this week: "US Holiday Lights Use More Electricity than El Salvador Does In a Year." According to the chart, America burns 6.63 billion kilowatt-hours to shine its end-of-year holiday lights. By comparison, annual kilowatt-hours in the developing world are paltry. In an entire year, El Salvador uses 5.35 billion kilowatt-hours. Ethiopia is at 5.30 billion, Tanzania at 4.8 billion, Nepal at 3.28 billion and Cambodia at 3.06 billion. (Those numbers come from the World Bank.)

. . .

Then why do this comparison?

The point is twofold. One: just to show the tremendous difference in energy use between rich countries and poor countries.

What's the second point?

Some organizations have argued that poor countries should only use renewable energy sources in the future because of global concerns. I have no doubt that sub-Saharan countries, for example, are going to have a very heavy use of renewable energy technologies. But these countries have energy needs that go way beyond what current renewable technologies can deliver. Like every country of the world, poor countries are going to pursue an all-of-the-above strategy, including a mix of hydro, wind, solar, natural gas and geothermal.

Meanwhile, the U.S. isn't exactly a world leader in renewable energy. I get an annual notice from Pepco, the power company in Washington, D.C., and Maryland, where I live. The fuel mix for D.C. and Maryland is 95.9 percent from coal, gas and nuclear; 4 percent renewable — including 2 percent wind, 0.1 percent solar. It's pretty rich for me to sit in Washington, D.C., and tell Ghana they can't build one natural gas power plant.

More:
http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/?l=87369

[bananas]

93. "Christmas lights are a good thing. A beautiful thing! I'm not trying to be anti-Christmas at all."

Some more from that link, thanks for finding it:

<snip>

Todd Moss and his colleague Priscilla Agyapong put together the graphic. He's a fellow at the Center for Global Development; energy is one of his topics.

I spoke to him to learn more about his lights motif.

Are you the Grinch who wants to steal holiday lights?

No, I think Christmas lights are a good thing. A beautiful thing! I'm not trying to be anti-Christmas at all.

<snip>

[FrodosPet]

97. So Todd Moss hates the world as well?

It seems the point of the OP is that colored lights can not only hypnotize, they can destroy us.

[trillion]

94. As my christmas lights and the yard display blink. At least my state is on Hydro and Wind.

anything else is only 3% of the states total power and our wind is expanding. Got the lights off now. This is making me feel very guilty.

[EX500rider]

96. This is stupid...

.....anyone turning their lights off in the US isn't going to help with the electrification of any of those countries.....and if we stack causes of global warming, Xmas lights will be on page 47.

[SmittynMo]

101. More energy than entire countries?

And this coming from the richest country on the planet!!!!

Yet we still can't afford healthcare and a college education for all. Something's seriously fucked up here, isn't it?

[Township75]

104. This just shows that some people want to be thought of as liberal, but are really just conservatives

when the "rubber meets the road".