How Much Electricity Do Christmas Lights Use

Every year after Halloween, there seems to be a very apparent shift in seasons, and the yearly debate begins. How soon is too soon to start decorating for the holiday season? It seems like Christmas music is playing everywhere you go, stores have abundant holiday décor, and the Christmas lights go up. I love it, but it’s no secret that all of those decorations can impact your electricity bill. We’ll look at the benefits of LED Christmas lights, help you calculate the cost of your Christmas lights, and help determine if it is time for the upgrade!

Are LED Christmas lights worth the investment?

We think so, and the data backs us up! If you’re still decorating with incandescent Christmas lights, it’s probably time to switch. Even though LED lights typically have a higher initial cost upfront, the benefits will offset the investment over time. LED lights use light-emitting diodes rather than filaments to produce light. This technology makes the lights more efficient, durable, and longer-lasting than fluorescent incandescent lights.

Other benefits include:

1. LED Christmas lights don’t get hot to the touch:
LED lights are safe to use inside around your tree, wreaths and garlands, and won’t be harmful to your pets or toddlers.

2. They won’t run up your electric bill:
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, they use up to 90 percent less energy and last up to 25 times longer.

3. LED lights are less maintenance:
Because LED bulbs don’t burn out (they only get dimmer over time) you don’t have to mess with replacing bulbs or fuses. The bulbs are also made out of plastic, so you can quickly wrap them up when you’re done without having to worry about them breaking.

4. There’s a ton of variety:
LED Christmas lights have come a long way and are now available in a variety of colors, sizes, and styles. There are holiday-shaped lights, rope lights, net lights, and many more. We found this article about the common mistakes that people make when buying LED Christmas lights to be very insightful, especially the section about buying cord and bulbs separately to build your own custom light lines (like the pros!).

How to calculate your Holiday light cost

Have you ever wondered how much you’re really spending on your Christmas lights? You can use this handy Christmas Lights Electricity Cost Calculator to estimate how much you’ll spend on your electric bill this year, depending on the type of lights you use. Think about when you put your lights up and take them down (the day after Thanksgiving, 1st of December, After New Years), and how long you run them every night as this all factors into how much extra energy you are using during this time of year. Amazingly starting around Black Friday every year, the light intensity in American suburbs increases by 30-50 percent until the start of the new year. According to NASA, our holiday lights shine so brightly you can see them from space. That’s a lot of holiday lights and a lot of extra money being spent to power those lights. 

Is it time to upgrade to LED Christmas lights?

So, if you’re one to go all out or have been considering upgrading your lights, this year might be the time to do so. The benefits of the energy savings over time outweigh the initial cost of your LED lights. Here are the best indoor and outdoor lights of 2022 to help guide you before making your new purchase. There are also stores/websites that will recycle your old Christmas lights for you such as this one, which will provide you with a discount code for lights and donates the proceeds from recycling to Toys for Tots and other charities.