Rockefeller Center Xmas Tree Goes Eco-Friendly

The most famous holiday decoration in New York City, perhaps the world, is the annual Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. And this year, it go eco-friendly with bright new LED lights that use a lot less electricity.

The new light emitting diode lights use less than half as much electricity as the conventional bulbs used until now. So, instead of using 3,510 killowatt hours a day, the number is now 1,297kw.

According to CNN.com, the use of LED lights on the Rockefeller tree equates to a daily “savings” equal to the electricity consumed by a 2,000-square-foot house in a month. That's pretty significant. But, A posting on Design News isn't impressed, saying, "they would save even more energy if they just didn’t put the tree up to begin with".

Bah, humbug.

The engineering website did not mention that Paris, also known as The City of Lights, is using similar LED lighting to cut back on electrical usage for the hundreds of trees along the Champs-Elysses.

Close to one million of the new eco-friendly light bulbs decorate more than 400 trees along this famous boulevard, between the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde. The LED bulbs promise to provide eight times the twinkle, while cutting the electric bill by 70 percent.

New York City and Paris. Two of the world's most popular and most visited cities. Always setting trends. This one is a Green Travels trend.