With Christmas on our doorstep, the UK nights are lit by masses of Christmas lights creating a truly festive scene. With many homes having lights up throughout the festive period, is it known or even thought about that they have a hidden cost that is often overlooked. With the energy prices having changed this year many homeowners are still thinking of ways in which they can save money and lower their bills.
Energy usage of Christmas lights is something that many of us don’t think about and could come as a surprise to many. Recent studies have shown that an average string of Christmas lights is equivalent to running a refrigerator for hours. While enjoying the beauty of these lights we may also be contributing to a rise in greenhouse gases and in turn increasing our carbon footprint.
Traditional Christmas lights consume more electricity. For example, a 20ft fairy light string of 100 incandescent bulbs uses about 40W of electricity and with the UK household having these lights on for 6hrs a day this could use 65kWh of electricity in December, averaging out at a cost of £6.36. This number also varies depending on the household size, number and type of lights used. As much as cost is a factor in lighting your home for Christmas it's also worth understanding that lights, no matter the length of time they are up, may still contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. With this understanding of our environmental impact, we can look at changing up our Christmas lights and make more informed decisions going forward for a more sustainable celebration.
Now it's not all doom and gloom, there are plenty of ways that we can all enjoy the festive period whilst minimising our energy usage.
One way to reduce energy consumption within Christmas lights is by switching to LED lights. LED lights consume 80% to 90% less energy than regular incandescent bulbs and will also last up to 100,000 hours longer compared to only 3000 hours of an incandescent bulb. It's also worth noting that other energy saving tools can be used, such as:
Timers - Keeping Christmas lights on is a nice thought but to save money consider using a timer to control your illumination display. Setting specific hours can avoid unnecessary energy wastage and allows for the enjoyment of lights at night (they always look better at night).
Renewable technologies like Solar Powered Lights - With harnessing power from solar rays during the day, illuminating your lights at night should be no problem. They are eco-friendly and help reduce your electricty consumption from the grid.
If you'd like to change up your lights to a less traditional alternative but still be energy-efficient there are a few options that might be worth looking into:
Fibre Optic Lights – These produce a mesmerising display and have become popular in recent years. These lights consume very minimal energy and come in an assortment of colours and patterns.
Projection Lights - With increased popularity projection lights have become favourites of homeowners, if used stand alone with no other lights these are considered energy efficient, hassle-free, and visually appealing.
Battery Powered Lights - Although used mostly within the home battery powered lights mean no connection to electricity. Many pros include the variety of colours, shapes and lengths, varying from fairy lights, and string lights to mini-LED candles. Just make sure the lights you buy are rated for outdoor use.
With these alternatives being available, there will be plenty of homes embracing the energy-efficient festive ambience.
This holiday season let's try to make conscious decisions to be more sustainable by looking at the hidden energy costs of Christmas Lights. Hopefully, this post has taught you the changes you could make going forward. Understanding energy consumption and environmental impact is the first step in making sustainable choices. We hope that you have a sustainable festive period.
