Christmas lighting is causing less of a demand on Ireland's Electricity Supply Grid

Christmas lightsare no longer causing a spike in Ireland’s electricity consumption, with authorities saying that it is possible that it is down to the use of new technology. The state owned body which is responsible for monitoring the demand and supply of electricity, EirGrid, said that the notable increase in the consumption of electricity previously associated with the coming of the festive season has not been seen over this past 3 years.

Spokesperson Michael Kelly stated, “In recent years it hasn’t been so obvious, while 4 or 5 years ago it was easy to see a noticeable difference. However it should be noted that demand in general is usually lower over Christmas, as more people are at home. During Christmas day there is an even lower than normal level of electricity usage for a holiday”.

The Fantasy Lights Group is one of the largest suppliers of festive lighting in Ireland, and they believe that this is down to the transition of LED (Light Emitting Diodes) Lights. Chairman Gabriel Byrne said, “That there is approximately as much as 95% of Christmas lighting now sold is LED technology, and this technology has enabled users to use a fraction of the power which traditional incandescent bulbs use.”

He added, “For example, if you take George’s Street in Dublin city centre, before we replaced our lighting with LEDs, one bulb alone would have used 15 watts, however, now each row uses only around 40 watts. Now in recent years even a standard set of curtain lights, which you would usually see in a shop window, uses only 20 watts now compared to 600″. Byrne also noted that they have just as many lights on display as they would have in 2007.