How Much Does It Cost to Run a Holiday String Lights in the UK? (2026)
LED string lights use around 0.07 watts per bulb, so a 300 bulb string draws about 20 watts. Old incandescent strings use 10 to 20 times more for the same length.
A typical holiday string lights (20 W) costs £0.005 per hour, or about £0.95 per month at 6 hours a day in the UK. Cheap to run
| Wattage | Per hour | Per day | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low 5 W | £0.001 | £0.008 | £0.24 | £0.32 |
| Typical 20 W | £0.005 | £0.032 | £0.95 | £1.26 |
| High 100 W | £0.026 | £0.16 | £4.74 | £6.32 |
Formula: watts ÷ 1000 × hours × price per kWh. Typical use is 6 h/day for about 40 days a year (the holiday season) ≈ 5 kWh per year.
One day of a holiday string lights (0.48 kWh) is the same electricity as
- 2.7km in an electric car
- 4.8hours of TV
- 11hours of a laptop
- 53hours of an LED bulb
In the UK, with electricity at 26.3p per kWh (source: Ofgem price cap 1 Oct–31 Dec 2026, 2026-10), a typical holiday string lights costs £0.005 per hour and about £1.26 per year at 6 hours a day. Each £1.00 of electricity buys roughly 190.0 hours of use.
How to lower the cost of running a holiday string lights
- Replace incandescent strings with LED. The payback is usually a single season.
- Use an outdoor timer so lights run 5 to 6 hours rather than all night.
- Fewer, brighter strings often look better and cost less than many dim ones.
Frequently asked questions
How much do Christmas lights cost to run?
A typical LED display of 1,000 bulbs on for 6 hours uses about 0.4 kWh a day. Incandescent would use 5 to 8 kWh.
Do LED string lights use much electricity?
No. Even large displays cost a few dollars or pounds per season.
Is it safe to leave string lights on all night?
LEDs run cool, but a timer saves electricity and reduces risk.
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
- Outdoor Security Floodlight30 W typical
- Smart LED Bulb9 W typical
- LED Light Bulb9 W typical
Use the generic electricity cost calculator · Which uses more? Take the quiz