Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center
From New York to Japan, Christmas trees are going solar this year! The famous tree at Rockefeller Center has been lit with solar LED lights for the second year in a row. Amazingly, using solar lights on the iconic symbol of the holiday season will save as much energy in a single day as a family uses in an entire month! More than 30,000 LED lights are strung on about 5 miles of wire to illuminate the Rockefeller Center tree. To support the LED lighting of the tree, Rockefeller Center itself has 365 solar panels installed on its roof. The panels generate about 70 kW of energy.
Considering the fact that the tree is decorated with lights only (and an illuminated star on top), it certainly makes sense that the tree in Rockefeller Center is a solar Christmas tree!
In Tokyo, Japan, a 15-meter solar Christmas tree was erected early in November. Much like the Rockefeller Center tree, this beauty shines with over 20,000 LED solar lights! If you happen to be in the Land of the Rising Sun this year, you can check out the tree at the Mitsukoshi area store in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district, until Christmas Day.
In the Philipines, the country’s first solar Christmas tree was illuminated this year. It was a beautiful event in many ways, as expressed in the press release:
The lighting of the 40-foot Christmas tree signified the launching of the SWITCH 3 Light-A-Million-Homes program of the Department of Energy that seeks to bring light to more than a million Filipino homes, especially in the rural areas, that are still in darkness.
Want to get your own solar lights for a tree, your house or even your yard? There are many online resources (a few are listed below), and you can also find solar lights at most major hardware/home improvement stores.
Christmas Lights and Decorations
Have a Merry, solar Christmas!
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