How Much Does It Cost to Run an Outdoor Security Floodlight in Missouri? (2026)
An LED floodlight draws 10 to 50 watts, replacing 150 to 500 watt halogen units. Motion sensors keep them off most of the night, which matters more than the wattage.
A typical outdoor security floodlight (30 W) costs $0.005 per hour, or about $1.46 per month at 10 hours a day in Missouri. Cheap to run
| Wattage | Per hour | Per day | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low 10 W | $0.002 | $0.016 | $0.49 | $5.92 |
| Typical 30 W | $0.005 | $0.049 | $1.46 | $17.76 |
| High 100 W | $0.016 | $0.16 | $4.87 | $59.20 |
Formula: watts ÷ 1000 × hours × price per kWh. Typical use is 10 h/day ≈ 110 kWh per year.
One day of an outdoor security floodlight (0.72 kWh) is the same electricity as
- 4.0km in an electric car
- 7.2hours of TV
- 16hours of a laptop
- 80hours of an LED bulb
In Missouri, with electricity at 16.2¢ per kWh (source: EIA Table 5.6.A, 2026-06), a typical outdoor security floodlight costs $0.005 per hour and about $17.76 per year at 10 hours a day. That is about 12% less than the national average for the US ($1.65 per month), because electricity in Missouri costs 16.2¢ per kWh against 18.3¢ nationally. Each $1.00 of electricity buys roughly 205.5 hours of use.
How to lower the cost of running an outdoor security floodlight
- Use motion sensors rather than dusk-to-dawn on lights that are only for security.
- Replace any halogen floodlight with LED. It cuts consumption by 80 to 90 percent.
- Aim lights where needed instead of adding more.
In standby it draws about 1 W, which adds roughly 9 kWh ($1.42) per year if it is never unplugged.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to run an outdoor light all night?
A 30 watt LED for 10 hours uses 0.3 kWh, a few cents a night.
Do motion sensor lights use electricity when off?
About 1 watt for the sensor, roughly 9 kWh a year.
How much does a halogen floodlight cost compared with LED?
A 500 watt halogen for 10 hours uses 5 kWh, versus 0.3 to 0.5 kWh for an LED of similar brightness.
Cost by region
US states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Canadian provinces
Related appliances
- LED Grow Light150 W typical
- Holiday String Lights20 W typical
- Smart LED Bulb9 W typical
- LED Light Bulb9 W typical
Use the generic electricity cost calculator · Which uses more? Take the quiz