Will Christmas lights drive up my energy bill? How to keep costs down

We’re already halfway through December and Christmas is fast approaching, which means many people have already put up their Christmas trees and decorated their houses with hundreds of lights.

Despite being a great tradition, adding extra lights to your home will mean you’re likely using more energy than usual and possibly increasing your energy bill.

This is why Ausgrid has long recommended switching to LED lights for festive occasions. For example, the cost of running 32 LED indoor star lights for 10 hours a night for the entire month of December will only cost 12 cents a month and 20-star LED garden lights only cost 20 cents. This is much cheaper than, say, the old incandescent lights.

Christmas is already an expensive time of year and the last thing you want is to be forking out more money than necessary, especially with the current energy crisis affecting prices.

Luckily, there are specific things you can do to keep these costs down overall.

Do Christmas lights use a lot of electricity?

It’s hard to know how various lights might impact your bill, given their different sizes and times of day they’re on. But, here are some general tips:

• Again, make sure your Christmas lights are LED. According to Ausgrid, LED lights use half the electricity of standard fairy lights. 
• Consider buying solar Christmas lights. The upfront cost of solar lights is generally higher but they cost nothing to run because they are powered by the sun. 
• Don’t leave your lights on overnight. If you want your lights to stay on after you go to bed, use a timer to stop them from running all night. 
• Only turn your lights on the week before Christmas. Some people prefer to have their lights on all through December but if you only turn them on the week of Christmas, you won’t use as much power. 
• Compare energy plans and consider switching to a more competitive plan to make sure you’re not paying more than you need to be.

Now that summer is here, you’ll probably be using more energy to keep your home cool as well. Check out our tips on keeping your energy usage down this summer.