Dell Inc. is switching to mercury-free light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, to illuminate laptop screens starting in mid-December, a move that will make the computers softer on the environment and easier to recycle.

Dell said the LED displays consume less energy (43 percent less for 15-inch screens) than ones lit with CCFL – cold cathode fluorescent lamps – the technology that is standard in Dell's existing notebook computers.

The laptops shipping in December with LED screens represent about two-thirds of Dell's notebook sales, and include Latitude E models and two Precision mobile workstation models.