Energy adviser: LEDs can lighten holiday utility bills

The potential environmental impact of holiday lighting is likely to dim even Clark W. Griswold's enthusiasm for looping numerous strings of multicolored lights across his roof. According to a Department of Energy report, holiday lighting consumes more than six terawatt-hours a year. This is equal to the electricity consumed by a half-million homes in one month. Moving to LEDs for holiday lighting would cut this by 90 percent and reduce some of the side effects of wasted electricity.