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2026-02-27 19:00 - 2026-06-10 20:00 (America/New_York)
Tis the Season of Light – And Time to Make your Lights Eco-Friendly
(By Maia Miskin)
Tis the season of light. Whether you are lighting a Christmas tree, menorah, or neither, you can’t help but witness an abundance of light each December. All this light sparks a thought: how eco-costly are my lighting habits? And is this really even a place where my actions can make a difference?
Here’s some news that is practically as uplifting as Wham!’s Last Christmas: Changing your light habits can have a positive effect on the environment, plus, it is easy and budget-friendly.
According to the EPA, 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from electricity and heat production). Each one of us, and our lighting habits, contribute to this large piece of the pie.
First things first, run your home on green electricity. If you have already installed solar panels, thank you, we love our green neighbors. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly option, sign up for 100% renewable energy offsets through Green Powered by Green Energy Consumers Alliance. Simply put, for about $25 a month (depending on how much you consume), they connect with your electricity company, monitor your monthly electricity usage, and then they match the amount you took from the grid with renewable electricity going back into the grid. While not as direct as solar power, you can still have a clean conscience. And it is so cheap and easy to sign up. Please, take 5 minutes and make the switch to run your house on green power in 2020.
Secondly, update the lights in your home to LEDs . LED lights are a little more expensive upfront, but they also typically tell you on the package your cost savings per year compared to regular incandescent lights, so over the life of the bulb they are less expensive. For some inspiration, look to your nearest street light as the Town of Wayland has recently replaced the approx. 750 street lights to LEDs, reaping the town at least $40,000 a year in electricity savings.
Third, embrace what the Danish call hygge, pronounced hue-guh. Hygge celebrates the cozy hibernation that winter brings, like a warm hug and mug of your favorite hot beverage. To the Danish, a cozy home has dim lights or candle lights. For us Waylanders, it means installing dimmer switches and using them, or simply turning lights off when you leave a room. Like the warmth of a cozy fire, there’s something addicting about a dimly lit room, especially in the wintertime.
So in your frenzy of holiday shopping consider adding some important items to the list: green energy for your home, LED lights to replace any non-LED ones, and adding dimmer switches to your hearts’ content. Throw in some LED Christmas lights too – they will last forever. Picture you in 2020, in your green-electricity home or apartment with your LED lights on dim, listening to some great music and living your most eco-friendly life yet!
Together, we got this. Browse the other Actions for steps on how to make the switch to green electricity, handy tips on how to choose LED lights, and many more actions that will impact your and our town’s carbon footprint.
