Local company decorates for holidays and conserves
By Angela Greiner Contributing Writer

Region - How do consumers balance their concerns about the impending climate crisis with the tradition of using thousands of lights to adorn hedges, houses and trees during the holidays?

David Veron, the president of The Veron Company in Marlborough, is at the forefront of green technology that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which use 80 to 90 percent less energy - 0.2 amps per strand instead of 2 amps per strand - to replace conventional Christmas lights.

Veron explained that his company installs LED lights for both residential and commercial customers, and has made a real push this year to move away from traditional mini-lights.

"Why waste when you don't have to?" he said.

The only real negative that Vernon can see is that the upfront cost is nearly double the cost of commercial grade mini-lights. Yet, he explained the advantage of the money saved from electricity over a few years outweighs the cost diff erence.

The Veron Company, which has been involved with several large LED lighting installations in the Metrowest area in the past several weeks, has been impressed with the three-year warranty that comes with the LED holiday lighting. With a potentially longer life, the LED strands are also expected to save the consumer money on replacement lights.

What has really attracted Veron to this product is the easy installation process.

"On a large-scale installation, you have to run so many extension cords … and extra power sources," he explained. "By the time the tree is lit, it has so many wires it looks like a bionic tree."

The LED strands plug into an adapter that retails for under $10 that can handle the connection of up to 125 strands of lights end-to-end. Light continuity can also be maintained with "space wire," which is an extension cord that allows wires to run from windows to trees.

Green Marlborough founder Jennifer Boudrie broke it down to dollars and cents: over the same length of time, the LED lights, at an estimated cost of $.06/kWh, cost $1.10 compared to $21 for incandescent and $5.75 for fluorescent lights.

In addition to holiday lighting, LED strands can be used for the same events that mini -lights are used for - weddings, concerts and celebrations.

On a municipal level, LEDs can save cities and towns substantial amounts of money by replacing lighting on exit signs and city traffic lights.

LED lights can be purchased online and at hardware and large retail stores.

For more information about installations or other services that The Veron Company provides, contact the office at 508-485-4884.

"It is important for people to think about the environment," Veron said.