Ah yes, the festive season is finally here and nothing says Christmas more than Christmas lights. But, with the rising costs of bills, plenty of Christmas switch-ons are cancelled. However, it seems many are still choosing to cover their homes in festive lights.
According to data from Festive Lights, the demand for Christmas lights has seen over 148,000 searches in the last month. However, given the current issue surrounding the energy crisis, its unsurprising demand for energy-saving lights has also increased, with a rise of 85% in the last month alone.
Because of this, experts at the company has unveiled the true cost of getting your house in the festive spirit this Christmas, and how you can be more energy efficient in doing so.
Are Christmas lights expensive to run?
“With rising electricity prices, it’s only natural to wonder if fairy lights, as pretty as they are, are going to cost you a small fortune. The answer, thankfully, is a resounding no,” Paula Boston, visual merchandiser at Festive Light says.
“Modern Christmas lights use LEDs rather than filament bulbs which are less energy efficient. Plus, as they are designed to be decorative rather than offer practical lighting, they do tend to use relatively little electricity.”
How much will your Christmas lighting cost to run?
Based on the average use of having your Christmas lights on for six hours per night, Brits are looking at an average monthly cost of just 71p, analysis by Festive Lights suggests.
Perhaps surprisingly, this is over 13 times cheaper than the average cost of running a TV monthly in the UK, which comes to around £9.31 based on six hours of use a day.
Some brands are selling even cheaper products. Supermarket Lidl has just launched a set of low-energy lights that it says will cost just 28p to run for the whole of December.
“However, if you’re still hesitant about using extra energy, there’s no reason to miss out on the fun,” suggests Boston.
“Creating a Christmas wreath is a great way to get the whole family involved in decorating your home on a low budget. And, the addition of a candle will give a similar effect to using lighting without having to use additional energy.”