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Greenville Drive

Greenville Drive & Duke Energy to Host Holiday Lights Recycling Initiative in January

December 13, 2011 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, SC - Holiday lights brighten up everything except your electricity bill. They're so twinkly and tiny, you probably string them up without giving them much, if any, thought as to how much energy they use.

That's why this year, the Greenville Drive and Duke Energy are joining forces to host a holiday lights recycling drive at Fluor Field. The recycling drive will also include a component to educate fans as to how they can save money on their electricity bills during the winter months.

"Hundreds of thousands of pounds of decorative incandescent lights are tossed in the garbage following each holiday season," noted Drive Co-Owner and Team President, Craig Brown. "According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if all decorative lights sold in America this year were ENERGY STAR qualified, we would save over 700 million kWh of electricity per year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to about 100,000 cars!"

Throughout the month of January, fans can simply drop off their non-workable holiday lights at the Drive Team Store, located just outside the Main Street Gate at Fluor Field, and the Drive and Duke Energy will make sure they are properly recycled. Fans that recycle their holiday lights at Fluor Field will be rewarded with a 25% off savings certificate valid toward a future purchase at the Drive Team Store.

"Decorative lights can drive up a customer's monthly bill during the holidays," said Catherine Heigel, President, Duke Energy South Carolina. "This is an excellent opportunity for customers to recycle their holiday lights and update them with more efficient bulbs."

On average, holiday lighting costs just pennies a day. However, elaborate displays that use large incandescent bulbs can add as much as $80 to a monthly power bill, depending on the number of bulbs and how long they are lit each day.

Six sets of 100 large incandescent bulbs plugged in six hours a day can add up to $80 to an energy bill. The same style bulb that uses a light-emitting diode (LED) rated at 65 watts would increase the electric bill by only about $7 a month. To help customers estimate their holiday lighting cost, Duke Energy has also added a calculator to its website. Residential customers can access this calculator by visiting www.duke-energy.com/holidaylights.

Brown added, "Our partnership with Duke Energy and this holiday lights recycling initiative is an example of how organizations in the Upstate work together in meaningful and productive ways around shared goals for a common good; like sharing with the Upstate Community how to be a better steward of our finite energy resources."

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