Make your holiday season memorable by putting up Christmas lights along the walkway, trees, windows, and roof. Many people choose bouncy inflatables with music and projections.
However, if you plan on setting up a complete Clark Griswold display of Christmas spirit, it might take quite a lot of energy.
Are you concerned? Are Christmas lights more energy-efficient? Can we be more efficient on our wallets and the environment?
It all comes down to the size of your light display, the number of bulbs, and, most importantly, the type and energy source of the bulb.
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS’ ENERGY USAGE
Although it might appear like your Christmas lights use less energy, your breakers could be tripped if they exceed their amp limit. This could happen to households that have a lot of traditional incandescent lights.
Most household circuits can handle between 15 and 20 amps which are approximately 1,800 to 2,400 Watts. Circuits shouldn’t exceed 80% of their maximum wattage. When you plug in your Christmas lights to a wall outlet, they share the circuit’s power with any other drawing power. You need to be aware of the wattage you are using.
Incandescent lights are the traditional Christmas lights. They work by heating up a source of energy in the middle of the bulb, which lights up the surrounding bulbs. Because of their durability and low energy consumption, LED lights have been more popular than traditional bulbs since the 2000s.
Let’s look at how much energy each Christmas light uses to provide the holiday cheer we all need.
WHAT ENERGY DOES A STRAND of CHRISTMAS LIGHTS USE
C7 and C9 Christmas lights are popular for outdoor lighting displays, particularly roofs. Although incandescent bulbs can cover the top of your home, they consume more energy than solar-powered or LED lights.
For example, 300 C9 incandescent bulbs use 2,100 watts. Powering LEDs is more expensive because of the higher wattage of incandescent bulbs.
Incandescent lights have a limit of four to five strands. They won’t handle more than this and will not be able to handle the wattage.
You should be able to understand the wattage of your home and the number of strings that you are connecting together if you decide to use incandescent lights.
WHAT ENERGY DOES LED CHRISTMAS LIGHTS USE?
LED Christmas lights, on the other hand offer a more energy-efficient option to recreate the North Pole from your front yard.
Referring to the previous example, 300C9 LED bulbs will use only 29 watts to cover the entire roof line of your house as opposed to the 2,100 watts required by incandescent lighting. This is a huge difference: LED lights consume 80% to 90% less energy per hour than traditional lighting.
Multiple strands can be connected to reduce the number of outlets needed for your display. Depending on the bulb count, you can connect up to 50 strands with LED lights. You might be closer than you think to creating your winter wonderland display.
Fun Fact: Each year the a study by Simple Thrifty Living the average American Christmas display cost is $19.81 for the 34 days leading up New Year’s.
These calculations assume that light displays are used.
- You should be active for at least six hours every night
- Ten strands of incandescent light at approximately 70 feet each can be used
- Include two inflatable decorations
The cost of each state is also taken into consideration. Hawaii, for example, is the most costly state to light up with $46.62 per 34 days of Christmas lights decor. Louisiana, however, only spends $13.94.
How much are your holiday holly jolly displays really costing you? These steps will help you calculate your power consumption.
- Find out your wattage.
- Multiply your wattage with 0.001 to get kilowatt hours.
- Multiply the 5 hour day by 5 to get kwh/day.
- Multiply the 30-day period by kwh/season.
- Calculate the cost by multiplying 11.3 cents or the power consumption cost found on your electric bill.
Do you need to be a better mathematician or just too busy? Quick Google search will bring up a list of easy-to-use online calculators .
HOW TO REDUCE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS’ ENERGY USE WITH SOLAR
If you want to go all out this year, you can light up solar panels but be more considerate of the environment and your wallet. Solar panels can only generate energy during daylight hours. You can send any excess solar power to backup energy solutions to charge it. This will allow you to turn on your lights at night, when your panels are not in use.
Solar power generated during the day can offset electricity costs at night. You can draw stored energy from your solar batteries instead of the grid.
Solar panels harness the sun’s energy to power your home. Your panels will produce more electricity the more sunlight it receives. Solar panels can be used in any weather condition, even if it is cloudy in the Pacific Northwest or elsewhere.
The use of solar panels to light Christmas lights has many benefits.
CONVENIENCE
Solar-powered Christmas lights allow you to decorate with your imagination and convenience.
Solar lights can be hung anywhere you like, so you don’t have to worry about where the nearest outlet is or how ugly your extension cords look. You can light up the bushes closest to your front door without worrying about how many strands are possible.
COOST SAVINGS
Although the cost savings of using solar lights and LED lights may not seem significant at first glance, it is worth considering that you only need to buy your solar panel setup once. It will pay off for many Christmases after that.
You might notice a more significant impact on your wallet than traditional incandescent lamps. This means that you have more room for holiday shopping!
ECO-FRIENDLINESS
Solar power has the most significant environmental benefit.
You can help reduce your carbon footprint by using solar panels to light Christmas lights. Choose a product powered by endless renewable energy to ensure a better future for your family.