How to Trade Energy-Hogging Holiday Lights for Ones More Energy-Efficient

From a press release:

South Bay Cities Council of Governments announced today their annual FREE Holiday Light Exchange will take place on Nov. 13 and 14 for Southern California Edison and Department of Water and Power customers within the cities and communities of Carson, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Torrance, and the Los Angeles District 15 communities of Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, San Pedro, Wilmington, and L.A. County unincorporated areas of the South Bay.

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Lights will be exchanged at the SBCCOG’s Environmental Services Center located at 20285 S. Western Avenue, Suite 100, Torrance, CA 90501.

This event was made possible due to the generous support of our Holiday Light Exchange Sponsors Chevron Products Company, Athens Services, DDS Plumbing Inc., South Bay Association of REALTORS, AEG Energy Services, Continental Development Corporation, CREE LED Lighting, GSE Solutions and Susan Jones 3 Leaf Realty.

SCE and DWP customers will be able to trade in one working string of old electricity-guzzling incandescent holiday lights for one new, energy-efficient LED string. Old strings will be taken off the grid forever and recycled as e-waste.

“For the last several years the SBCCOG, through their Environmental Services Center, has been helping South Bay residents to reduce their holiday utility bills and provide a safer source of holiday lighting through the Holiday Light Exchange. In fact, if all decorative light strings sold in America this year were Energy Star qualified, such as the ones we will be exchanging, we would save over 700 million kWh of electricity per year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the emissions from about 100,000 cars,” stated Jim Goodhart, SBCCOG Board Chair and Councilmember from Palos Verdes Estates.

Where: South Bay Environmental Services Center

20285 S. Western Avenue, Suite 100, Torrance, CA 90501

Free parking

When: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Nov. 13 & 14, while supplies last. Quantities are limited.

Limit: One string per SCE or DWP household within the boundaries of the SBCCOG

(Please bring utility bill or driver’s license).

For more information call (310)371-7222.

These Energy Star qualified lights can last up to 10 times longer than traditional incandescent strands, are cool to the touch, reduce the risk of fire, be used both indoors and outdoors, and come in a variety of colors, shapes, and lengths. The exceptional qualities of LED lights make the Holiday Light Exchange a unique opportunity for residents to learn about their benefits including the light strands’ durability and efficiency, while improving the environment.

The amount of electricity consumed by just one 7-watt incandescent bulb could power 140 LEDs – enough to light two 24-foot (7.3)-meter) strings.

PHOTO Patch file photo.

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