Christmas Lights Power Consumption
The wall of Christmas lights during this time of year at Walmart, Target, At Home and just about every other store can not be avoided. There are colored lights, clear & white lights, multi-colored lights, warm lights, cool lights, blinky lights, and dancing lights. To top it off the choices are doubled because all of the options above are now in incandescent Christmas Lights and LED.
Well, the choice of colors and flashy bits is purely subjective to ones taste. Where Houston-Luxury-Lighting specializes in is deciphering the myths of incandescent vs. LED bulbs and Christmas lights power consumption. One amazing fact shines bright when comparing the two. Incandescent wattage is 80-90% more than LED wattage. That increases the cost power incandescent bulbs 90 times greater than an LED.
The LED vs Incandescent Match Off
As listed on Walmart.com
Multi Color Mini Christmas Lights – Green Wire cost $7.99
- 100 – count
- Indoor/outdoor use
- Spacing between each bulb: 2.5″
- Lighted length: 20.6′
- Total length: 21.8′
- Contains end-to-end connectors which allows you to connect multiple sets together (not to exceed 210 watts)
- 120 volts, 60 hertz, 0.34 amps, 40.8 watts
Holiday Time Multi-Color LED C9 Lights, 100-Count cost $22.98
- 100-count
- Indoor/outdoor use
- 6′ x 8′ x 6″ spacing green wire
- String to string
- Multi LED bulbs
- Lighted length: 58.5′
- Total length: 59.5′
- 3-year warranty (Ever see a warranty request on Christmas lights?)
- Approximately 7 watts
96.8034% greater cost for LED sets.
LED strand is 37.9′ longer (95.8281% longer)
LED strand is 141% more efficient
Of course the LED always comes with the disclaimer you pay more to save more. However, it would require two strands of incandescent lights to span the distance of the single strand of LED. Realistically making the buy in cost of the incandescent bulbs $15.98 only 36% less expensive than a single set of the LED Christmas lights.
Now let’s see how efficient the decision to go LED will be and how soon the payoff is delivered.
Energy Cost Comparison
EIA.gov reports the national average energy rate for 2014 is 12.41 cents. You can use your electric bill and the links at the end of the article to determine your estimated energy usage for the season. We’ll try to keep this simple as possible and list links below if your interested in some extreme number crunching.
Based on a 5 hour usage per day and an energy rate of ¢12.14
- 100 Count of Incandescent lights run approximately $.76 per month
- 100 Count of LED lights run approximately $.13 per month
Putting it in perspective, a single family home could have 10 strands of lights inside and out and possibly more. Making the cost:
- 100 Count of Incandescent lights run approximately $76.00 per month
- 100 Count of LED lights run approximately $13.00 per month
Ideally, LED is the way to go all season long. Along with the energy saving cost and the dramatic decrease in the cost of LED lights, going LED is the wise choice. Not to mention the 3 year warranty. Now we just have to remember to hold onto the paperwork that long.
Houston-Luxury-Lighting works year-round to ensure that our customers receive the the best quality outdoor lighting and indoor lighting. We proudly serve Houston and surrounding areas for landscape lighting, in home LED conversions, and structural lighting. Call us today for a free estimate (713) 481-1518 or visit www.houston-luxury-lighting.com for more information.
Sources:
- U.S. Energy Information Administration LINK
- Rapid Tables Online Reference & Tools – Energy Cost Calculator LINK
- Calculator Soup LINK
- Walmart Incandescent Bulbs
- Walmart LED Bulbs LINK
- Christmas Lights Etc – Much appreciation for helping with the math. Go here to determine your Christmas Lights Power Consumption. They have nifty comparison tables that show comparisons between typical decoration set ups. LINK
