By Patricia Daukantas

Another example of the inroads that solid-state lighting is making: the New York Times reports that the star that tops the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in midtown Manhattan is getting a makeover with LEDs.

The 5-year-old Swarovski crystal star has 12 glass rays and “a million glittery facets,” according to the Times, but the designer wanted to send more light through the rays. So workers retrofitted the star with 720 1-W white LEDs. The stainless-steel framework inside the rays had to be redesigned to accommodate the LEDs and their circuitry.

The Rockefeller Center tree, a decades-old tradition in New York City, will be illuminated this holiday season from Dec. 2 to Jan. 7. The rest of the tree was converted to LED lighting two years ago.

2009-11 November leds, solid-state lighting