Do Christmas Lights Use A Lot Of Electricity?
November 20, 2019
Can you smell the holiday season yet? To some people, the Christmas season actually started as early as September. For this season, people will be making their lists, some will be preparing for parties, some will be thinking about the dishes to prepare, and some will be thinking about going to family reunions. Whatever is on their minds, one thing is for sure, it is the most wonderful time and everyone will have that joyful feeling once again
Another thing that is certain is that homes and offices will be decorated with beautiful Christmas lights. And now more and more people are ditching the old incandescent lights for the much newer LED lights.
Whether you are still stuck in the past and are still using incandescent lights, or have moved on to LED, these decorations bring so much joy illuminating our holiday evenings. Yet some people are wondering, at what cost? How will it reflect on our electric bills? Do Christmas lights use a lot of electricity? That is one thing we are going to take a look at in this article. Setting our expectations would at least help us avoid any surprises when January’s electric bill comes.
The Workings Of Holiday Lights
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, incandescent lights work by having electricity “travel through a closed circuit, passing over a filament, causing it to glow brightly.” They also went on to say that “ the more current that passes over the filament, the hotter it will get, the brighter it will burn, and the quicker it will burn out.”
With LED lights, the mechanics are much more sophisticated. “A diode consists of something called p-n junction - two semiconductors next to each other, one with a positive charge and one with a negative charge.” The report continues to say. “When current is applied to the system, electrons from the negative side move towards the positive side. On the positive side, particles called electron holes move toward the negative side. When an electron and electron-hole collide, a small amount of energy is released as a photon. The result is the visible light we see in an LED.”
Holiday Lights Still Use Energy Even When Turned Off
Do you know that even if you turn off the holiday lights, energy is still being used? This thus adds up to your electric bill. This phenomenon is called phantom energy. It is said that on average, Americans shell off $100 more for this energy. In order for you to save money, plug your lights into a power strip, and turn it off when you are not using it.
LED Lights Actually Are Cheaper
While it is true that outdoor Christmas LED lights will cost more upfront, it will save you money in the long run. LED lights last 25 times longer, and use 80% less energy. It only costs $0.27 to light a 6-foot tree for 12 hours a day for 1 month. For the same amount of time, incandescent lights cost $10. Based on this, we can actually see a better return on investment in LED lights.
So, to answer our question, Christmas lights do not have to use a lot of energy. Using Christmas LED lights saves you a lot, and is much safer. Putting it also on an automated schedule can also reduce costs.
Need Help In Christmas Lights Installation? Let Go-Forth Take Care Of That
Here at Go-Forth, we are not just pest control experts. We also assist homeowners in North Carolina in installing their holiday decorations. Save yourself from all that hassle and leave it to us to help you spread holiday cheer!
You may go to www.go-forth.com for a free quote.
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