The Red, White, and Green

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In the spirit of Easter weekend, I thought this video was pretty apropos. Sure, it’s a promotional tool for LED lighting manufacturer Cree, and I don’t even celebrate Easter, but I couldn’t exactly resist a chocolate bunny — especially when said bunny so effectively demonstrates the inefficiency of traditional incandescent bulbs.

What’s cool about Cree is that the company is focusing on commercial applications for its LED lighting. We talk a lot about how much energy individuals can save by  swapping out their regular light bulbs for CFLs and the like, but that energy savings is magnified when giant stores like Walmart jump on the green lighting bandwagon. (Walmart is a Cree customer, along with Friendly’s, IHOP, Taco Bell, and KFC — not exactly establishments you would normally associate with environmental consciousness.)

The biggest motivator for these companies, of course, is their bottom line. To wit: An “eco-friendly” (and I use that term lightly) McDonald’s in Cary, NC, has reduced its electricity costs by 78 percent since the installation of its Cree lighting system.

And unlike at home, where the aesthetics of eco-friendly lighting can leave something to be desired, who cares if a store uses LEDs or fluorescents for an outdoor parking lot? There’s no excuse not to.

–Jennifer Grayson

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