Change A Light Day
Many homes have been using incandescent light bulbs since they became available near the end of the 19th century. These bulbs were good at lighting a home, but they did have a few drawbacks. One drawback is that they produced heat as a byproduct.
Another drawback was that they used a bit of electricity. Fortunately, a new solution to the common incandescent bulb was created when LED bulbs began to become popular around 2004.
With this innovation, people could light their homes without driving up their electricity bills. Not long after LED bulbs began to experience a rise in popularity, the first Sunday of October was made into Change A Light Day.
The History Of Change A Light Day
Before we talk about the history of this holiday, we would like to briefly discuss the history of the light bulb that would change everything: the LED bulb. In 1961, Robert Biard and Gary Pittman invented an infrared LED light while they were employed at Texas Instrument.
Since this bulb only produced infrared light and was microscopic to boot, it wasn’t much use for lighting. It wouldn’t be until 1962 that Nick Holonyak Jr. invented the first LED to produce visible light while he was working at General Electric. Sure, that light was red, but it still was visible.
As the 1960s progressed, various engineers and researchers continued to experiment with semiconductors to produce more efficient LEDs. As they began their research using various chemical substrates, they ended up inventing red and orange LEDs.
In 1972, M. George Craford invented a pale yellow light. The intensity of these lights was also increased. Monsanto would become the first company to mass produce LED lights.
As research continued in the field of LEDs, different types of LED lights came to the forefront. There were orange-red, yellow, and bright green LEDs produced by the early 1990s. Then Shuji Nakamura invented ultra-bright blue LEDs.
These LEDs would become the foundation of current LED lights. The U.S Department then invested in developing white LEDs that could be used for residential and commercial use.
Around 2004, LEDs began to become extremely popular and a campaign was established to encourage people to make the switch from their old incandescent light bulbs to the more energy-efficient LED bulbs. LED bulbs use more than 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs.
Change A Light Day was invented in 2005 by the Kentucky Office of Energy Policy. This office approached Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher to support the idea. The First Lady of Kentucky then declared this holiday to be an official event to be observed on the first Sunday in October every year.
Observing Change A Light Day
This holiday can be observed simply by changing out old incandescent bulbs using modern LED bulbs. This will save electricity, and since LED bulbs last longer, it also means that people will save on bulbs in the long run.
