Greentech Lead U.S: GE Lighting, which is celebrating the
50th year of LED lighting innovation, will light up the 90th National Christmas
Tree this year using its LED lights. This is the first time the National
Christmas Tree will be light up with LED lights.
LED was invented by GE scientist Dr. Nick Holonyak, Jr.,
on Oct. 9, 1962. In the 50 years since, GE has been on the forefront of LED
innovation. The company has released LED products for both residential and
commercial settings, from the first ENERGY STAR-qualified A19-shaped LED bulb
to LED street lighting, the company said.
“Our design this year pays tribute to the first National
Christmas Tree while underscoring the transformational power of LEDs,” says
John Strainic, general manager of consumer lighting for GE Lighting. “We
encourage consumers who love the robustness, long life and energy cost savings
of LED holiday lights to explore what LEDs can do in other rooms and
applications throughout the year.”
When this year’s National Christmas Tree is illuminated,
it will glimmer with thousands of LED lights, including 450 strands of LED
lights and 120 star-shaped LED ornaments adorned with a gold metallic finish, a
feature that will make the tree sparkle not just at night, but all day long.
To commemorate the first tree lighting nine decades ago,
an heirloom topper design will be outfitted for greater efficiency, longer life
and brighter light output using a commercial-grade GE Tetra MAX LED system
that’s typically used in commercial signage.
In addition to the National Christmas Tree, 57 smaller
trees surrounding it will be illuminated with GE LED lights – one for every state
and U.S. territory. Each will sparkle with red, green and white lights in
tribute to the original National Tree.