Energy-saving tips for Christmas lights

With Christmas around the corner, it’s a national tradition (and often a source of local pride and/or competition…) to festoon our houses, hedges and towns with flashing lights and festive decorations. While you shouldn’t be worrying too much about the running costs – they are small generally! – there are always ways you can cut the costs even further. Check out our energy-saving tips for Christmas lights below.

How much do Christmas lights cost to run?

Christmas lights use around 80 watts of energy on average. If you keep your lights on for a standard 6 hours daily from the 1st of December to the 5th of January, it’ll only cost you around £6 for the whole period. Well worth the festive cheer!

But don’t forget, every home uses energy differently – and not all Christmas lights are made equal.

How to calculate the running costs of your Christmas lights and decorations:

1. Step one: find out your light wattage. You should find this on the label, in the instructions or on the box.
2. Step two: figure out how long you keep them on for the day. Is it 6 hours or is it longer? 
3. Step three: add your figures into sust-it’s helpful electricity calculator.
4. Step four: times your result by how many days you’ll have your Christmas lights on. E.g. 16p (total cost for 6 hours) x 36 (days) = £5.76 for the total period.

💡ivie tip: Use your ivie Bud in-home display to view real-time usage and costs. Find out how to do this here. 

Maybe you can’t face the pile of tangled Christmas lights, or you’re looking for an upgrade. Time to dive into our favourite energy-saving lighting options.

Energy-saving Christmas lighting

1. LED lights 

LED lights are the most energy efficient lighting options, so they’ll cost you less to run than traditional Christmas tree lights. Luckily they’re very easy to find these days. A typical box of 200 LED lights will use 6 watts of energy – that’s only 36p to run your lights for the whole Christmas period. 

💡ivie insight: By switching from traditional bulbs to LED lights, you’ll save up to 93% on your Christmas lighting costs! 

2. Battery-powered lights 

Want to avoid plugging your Christmas lights in? Try out battery-powered lights for in and outside your home to avoid you using any electricity. Just make sure you have a couple of batteries lying about to get them working!

Always try to go for LED battery-operated lights. You’ll save energy from not being plugged into the mains and the LED light will make them last longer than other bulbs. 

3. Timer lights

Everyone can be a bit forgetful when it comes to switching off Christmas lights before bed. If you leave your lights on overnight, you could be adding over £11.50 to your energy bill for the Christmas season. 

With a timer, you can select how long you want your Christmas lights to run. Whether it’s 6 hours or 8 hours, you can choose what time works for you.

💡ivie tip: find out exactly how much of you’re energy is being used on lighting in the free ivie app. Plus, cut down energy waste and get personal tips tailored for home lighting. 

4. Solar-powered LED lights

Solar energy is a great source of renewable energy. So while the cold British weather isn’t great, you can still rely on outdoor solar lights!

There are plenty of options out there. Just make sure your solar lights charge during the day and they’ll last for 8-14 hours on average at night outside. The only cost is buying them – running them is free! 

Switch your home to LED lights

We’re mainly focusing on Christmas lights here, but you should also consider replacing any leftover traditional lights you have around the house. Your old-fashioned halogen light bulbs use a lot more energy than LED bulbs, and cost you more in the long run. By replacing all your home’s bulbs with LED lights, you’ll save £55 a year. 

This doesn’t seem too much but consider the lifespan: a halogen bulb lasts only 2 years, while an LED bulb lasts over 25 years depending on which type you get! Some savings take time. 

Save energy around the home with ivie:

15 energy-saving tips for your home electronics
ivie’s Ultimate Energy Saving Guide