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MARQUETTE COUNTY -- Dale Weingartner spends about 50 hours each year putting up holiday decorations in his yard.  Yes, literally 50 hours.  He spends another 10 hours computer programming the show.

He's the man behind the famous Christmas Light Show at his home in Gwinn, a title he has worn proudly for more than 20 years.  However, this year, there's something a little different about many of these lights.

"I'm now gradually switching over to LED lights because I'm tired of fixing the strings of lights," says Weingartner.  "It's too hard to figure out and time consuming to get them to work every year."

LED stands for light emitting diode.  A strand of LED Christmas lights uses 70 percent less energy than traditional incandescent strands.  It's a savings TJ Brown of Northern Options Energy says will be noticed, even by families with displays much smaller than Weingartner's.

"It can save up to $20 per holiday season, which adds up, with all the families across the state of Michigan," says Brown.  "That's a significant amount of money."

Those savings won't just appear this year.  A single strand of LED Christmas lights, like the one in this display, are rated to last 50,000 hours.  A strand of traditional lights, however, is expected to last just 2,000.

The savings can continue past the holidays.  Superior Lighting stocks many LED bulbs for everyday use and say it's the lightbulb of the future.

"In five years, it'll probably be the standard bulb in your house," says Heather Paananen, owner of Superior Lighting. 

As for Weingartner, he says only time will tell what the new technology will bring to his display.

"Ask me in 10 years and I'll let you know," he said.