Did you know that a 100-count string of incandescent mini Christmas lights runs at 40 watts, while a 70-count string of 5mm wide angle LED Christmas lights runs at only 4.8 watts. Because incandescent wattage is 80-90% more than LED wattage on average, the cost to power an incandescent Christmas light display can be up to 90x greater than powering the equivalent LED display. We did the math:
0.035kW x £0.12 x 12hrs x 25 days of Christmas lighting x 29 million homes estimated using Christmas lighting this December = £36,540,000 wasted on energy.
So what is the answer? While LEDs may save you money off your power bill, you’ll likely have to spend a bit more up front. So, if you’re only hanging a couple strands of lights, paying for LED lights may not be beneficial. In that case we recommend using a timer to make sure you use your lights when they will be most effective. However, most homes are putting up far more than that, so you will see cost savings in year two, three and four.
It’s not all about the money though. LED lights are more durable and will take the toll of being packed and unpacked year after year. They’re also considered safer as you can safely connect 8-10 times more LED light strings together from one plug socket, whereas half of that using incandescent light strings would be considered a fire hazard. They also produce little to no heat, which means they are safe for the whole family to be around and the fears of burning the Christmas tree down during the night will be eased. Finally, like household LED bulbs, LED Christmas light strings are rated to last thousands of hours, proving to be the best long-term option year after year.
Everyone can take responsibility of energy savings. What would you spend that extra money on? Our team are dedicated to putting money back in your pocket, through these blog posts but also through our unique real-time energy monitoring system. If you would like to find out more information about how we can keep more money in your account for things that matter then visithttps://j-teq-energy.co.uk/homes/ or email our at info@netthings.co.uk.
