In the past, when people trimmed their trees, eaves and rooftops with holiday lights, they may have experienced blown fuses, heat damage, possibly a scorched Christmas tree and an extra $15 to $20 added to their January power bill.

But new LED holiday lights may eliminate some of those holiday headaches.

Carried by hardware and discount stores, the LED holiday lights have been a major hit for home decorators wanting to get into the Christmas spirit, according to Ted Adam, floor manager at Knecht Home Center.

LED, which stands for light emitting diode, is a semiconductor device that converts electricity into light. The technology has been around since the 1960s, but new advancements have pushed it into this year's must-have for home Christmas decorating.

"They produce absolutely no heat for a string of 35 to 50 lights. There would be little chance of causing a fire even on a dry tree," Adam said.

The purchase prices are comparable, but LED lights will cost a bit more than the others, he said. "It's because they're new," Adam said.

The new lights impressed Adam enough to send him into the holiday aisle to buy some LED lights for his own home and Christmas tree.

"They can be used indoors and out," he said.

Don Martinez, manager of Tariff Administration & Rate Design at Black Hills Corp., has bought LED lights to decorate his home as well.

"Old-fashioned lighting using a C7 or C9 light bulbs, they're burning 5 to 7 watts with each bulb. The LED bulb uses less than a half-watt each," Martinez said.

With escalating prices for food and fuel this season, new lights may be one way to cut costs for holidays. "It's

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a huge difference," he said of the LED lights' efficiency.

Citing the Energy Services Web site at www.wapa.gov/es, Martinez found a graphic comparing what it would cost to run a decorated 8-foot Christmas tree using 125 regular incandescent C7 bulbs and that of the same tree using 300 LED C7 bulbs.

"The tree lights were on for five hours each day for 30 days," he said.

The energy bill for incandescent lights was $15 for the season. However, it cost about 50 cents to light a tree for 30 days using more than twice as many lights using LED bulbs, Martinez said.

"It's a significant difference in cost," he said.

Martinez said that the lights have a different look to them, appearing to shimmer with movement as they pass through the faceted bulb. Some people say they're not as bright.

"It may not be as bright, but you can now afford to use more strings of light," he said.

According to Western Area Power Administration Energy Services, LED lights have a number of benefits over conventional lighting:

n Energy-efficiency - 0.08 watts per LED C7 multicolor bulb (compared with 0.48 watts for an incandescent mini light and 6 watts for a standard incandescent C7 bulb).

n Long lifespan - Up to 50,000 hours or more used outdoors; twice as long indoors. Some manufacturers provide a limited lifetime warranty.

n Safety - No chance of combustion since the bulbs are cool to the touch, regardless of how long they light the house.

n Sturdiness - The epoxy lenses in the bulbs are virtually indestructible.

With the 170 LED lights that decorate his home each night, Adam enjoys the look but relishes the long-lasting safe glow and efficiency.

"They're a nice advance in Christmas lighting," he said.

Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.