The Chicago Botanic Garden has replaced its holiday lights with energy-efficient ones that will last seven times longer and use 90 percent less energy than traditional bulbs, said Julie McCaffrey, a spokeswoman at the garden.
A 40-foot Norway Spruce flown in from Ohio to the garden’s esplanade was lit Tuesday with 15,000 energy-efficient multicolored lights. Another 46,800 energy-saving bulbs light up 22 giant ornamental spheres that surround the tree, and about 10,000 strings illuminate more than 670 plants throughout the garden, officials said.
“We can make a difference, and we should start here at the garden,” said Bryn Reese, a senior vice president at the Botanic Garden.
One string of LED holiday lights retails for $5 to $10, while traditional holiday lights go for $1.50 to $3, said Tim Melloch, ComEd’s director of energy efficiency services. McCaffrey said the garden expects to recoup the cost of the new lights through a lower electric bill and using the lights year after year.
The tree and spheres were lit ahead of the opening of the garden’s main holiday attraction, Wonderland Express, a 10,000-square-foot exhibit of garden-scale trains that travel past snowy winter landscapes with more than 80 miniature versions of Chicago’s favorite landmarks. The exhibit opens Friday and will remain on display until Jan. 6, when the tree will come down and the lights and spheres will be packed into boxes for reuse next year.
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By the numbers
The tree
A 40-foot Norway Spruce
The lights
15,000 energy-efficient multicolored lights
plus
46,800 energy-saving bulbs light up 22 giant ornamental spheres
