Lights Across the Country: DC and the Capitol Tree

Lights Across the Country: DC and the Capitol Tree

The Question: What Christmas lights are used on the Capitol Tree?

Short Answer: C9 LED Bulbs in multiple colors installed in 14 AWG Christmas cords.

The Long Answer:

Always happy to see our lights in action, we look forward each year to seeing the Capitol Tree lit up at the annual lighting ceremony. Back in 2005, we helped the Office of the Architect convert about 10% of the lights on the tree to LED as a sort of trial run, and then in 2006, the tree went entirely LED.

This year's tree was lit on December 2nd, 2015, by the new Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan. Architect of the Capitol Stephen T. Ayers, FAIA, LEED AP served as the Master of Ceremonies.

The Capitol uses in-house-made large AWG solid core wire with sockets and installs faceted C9 LED lights these colors:

  • Red
  • Blue
  • Orange
  • Yellow
  • Green
  • Warm White

Transitioning to LED bulbs has saved about 90% of the electricity used by traditional incandescent bulbs and dramatically decreased the cost of replacing glass bulbs every year.

The 2014 tree is the first to hail from Alaska - part of the trip was actually made by ship. That's a first. You can read more about this 4-ton tree's 4000-mile journey at these websites:

Alaska's first Capitol Christmas Tree heads to DC

I also love that the approximately 4000 ornaments are made by school children and community groups from across Alaska that reflect the state's heritage and culture.