This year the Village of Wauwatosa will help contribute to a greener Christmas and save some money on its utility bill by switching to LED Christmas lights. The Village is one of many progressive municipalities that are leading the charge for environmentally friendly government practices. Wauwatosa will decorate its 30’ Spruce tree with 2400 multi-color LED Christmas lights this year.
“We want to be an environmentally responsible organization and reduce energy costs,” said Kathy Ehley, Executive Director of the Business Improvement District. The new LED Christmas lights will illuminate the 30 foot spruce tree in Root Common Park on the corner of Wauwatosa and Harwood Avenue. The tree will be lit during the official tree lighting ceremony on Saturday, December 1st. “It’s going to be a great event, the McKinley School Choir will be playing and we are expecting a visit from Santa,” Ehley added. The tree will be lit by Mayor Estness and Business Improvement District Chair, Chris Leffler at 5:00 p.m.
“We are very pleased that so many small communities are leading the charge in the movement to become more environmentally friendly,” said Philip C. Curtis of HolidayLEDs.com. “The Village of Wauwatosa will have 2400 lights on its tree and will only use 172 watts of electricity,” added Curtis. The Christmas lights will be illuminated for approximately 30 days and will consume only 128 kilowatt hours of electricity during that period. “That adds up to about $14 in electricity costs for the village,” Curtis concluded. Last year the Village used about 1200 of the larger C7 or C9 style incandescent light strings which consumed about 6250 KWh of electricity and cost the Village approximately $688. “We anticipate a first year utility cost savings of over $500,” said Ehley.
LED Christmas lights can be purchased online at www.holidayleds.com.
