At the U.S. average price of 18.16¢ per kWh. Your state's price changes these numbers; use the calculator.
Work out your cost
Change any number. The price per kWh is on your electric bill.
Starts at the U.S. average residential price, 18.16¢/kWh (August 2026, EIA, checked Oct 24, 2026). Month is 30 days; year is 12 such months.
The formula
cost = watts × hours ÷ 1,000 × price per kWh
Worked example: 48 W × 6 h ÷ 1,000 = 0.288 kWh a day. 0.288 kWh × $0.1816 = $0.05 a day, or about $1.57 over 30 days.
How many watts do Christmas lights use?
Most are rated 4.8 to 408 W. The wattage is printed on the tag near the plug or on the box. Add up every string and decoration on the same timer to get the total.
- A standard 100-light LED mini set is rated 4.8 W (120 V, 0.04 A) on retailer spec listings for Home Accents Holiday and Brite Star sets. Our default is 10 of those strings, 1,000 lights at 48 W.
- A 100-light incandescent mini set is rated 40.8 W (120 V, 0.34 A); a 50-light set is 20.4 W and a 35-light set 14.4 W, according to Christmas Central's technical light chart. Ten 100-light incandescent strings draw 408 W.
- Large C-bulbs are much heavier loads. PG&E lists incandescent C7 bulbs at 5 W and C9 bulbs at 7 W each, sold in strings of 25, so one 25-bulb C9 string is 175 W.
- ENERGY STAR certified decorative light strings may use no more than 0.2 W per bulb. ENERGY STAR says the electricity of one 7 W incandescent bulb could power 140 LEDs.
- Animated and color-changing sets, inflatables with fans and projectors have their own ratings. Add the watts printed on each one.
Cost at different electricity prices
| Use | Nevada (lowest state)12.72¢/kWh | U.S. average18.16¢/kWh | New York28.65¢/kWh | California29.75¢/kWh | Hawaii (highest state)47.18¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One 100-light LED mini string, 6 hours a night1 kWh a month | $0.11$1.32/yr | $0.16$1.88/yr | $0.25$2.97/yr | $0.26$3.08/yr | $0.41$4.89/yr |
| 1,000 LED mini lights (10 strings), 6 hours a night9 kWh a month | $1.10$13.19/yr | $1.57$18.83/yr | $2.48$29.70/yr | $2.57$30.84/yr | $4.08$48.92/yr |
| 25 incandescent C9 bulbs on a roofline, 6 hours a night32 kWh a month | $4.01$48.08/yr | $5.72$68.64/yr | $9.02$108/yr | $9.37$112/yr | $14.86$178/yr |
| 1,000 incandescent mini lights (10 strings), 6 hours a night73 kWh a month | $9.34$112/yr | $13.34$160/yr | $21.04$252/yr | $21.85$262/yr | $34.65$416/yr |
| 1,000 incandescent mini lights left on all night, 12 hours147 kWh a month | $18.68$224/yr | $26.67$320/yr | $42.08$505/yr | $43.70$524/yr | $69.30$832/yr |
Per month (30 days) and per year (12 such months). Real use is usually seasonal. Average residential prices for August 2026 from the same EIA table. Your utility's rate, including delivery charges, may differ. Check the price per kWh on your bill.
Ways to pay less
- Switch the strings that run longest to LED ENERGY STAR says a certified LED string uses about 70% less energy than an incandescent one, and certified strings last up to 10 times longer. Replacing 1,000 incandescent minis with LED minis at 6 hours a night saves about $11.77 a month at 18.16¢/kWh.
- Put the display on a timer Cutting 1,000 incandescent minis from 12 hours to 6 hours a night saves about $13.34 a month. CPSC also says to turn holiday lights off when you go to bed or leave the house, so a timer covers both.
- Start with the roofline A single 25-bulb C9 incandescent string at 175 W uses more than 36 LED mini strings at 4.8 W each. If you replace one thing, replace the big bulbs.
- Look for the ENERGY STAR label Certified strings are capped at 0.2 W per bulb, carry a 3-year warranty, and outdoor models must pass weathering tests, according to ENERGY STAR.
Safety. CPSC advises using only lights labeled by a recognized testing laboratory such as UL or ETL, checking every set for cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires and loose connections, using no more than three standard-size sets of lights per extension cord, plugging outdoor lights into GFCI-protected circuits, and never putting electric lights on a metallic tree. Follow the maximum-connected-sets number printed on each string; it differs between LED and incandescent sets.
Questions
How much does it cost to run Christmas lights per month?
About $1.57 a month for 1,000 LED mini lights (48 W) at 6 hours a night and 18.16¢/kWh, the U.S. average residential price (EIA, August 2026). The same lights in incandescent cost about $13.34. At state prices the LED display runs from about $1.10 a month in Nevada (12.72¢/kWh) to $4.08 in Hawaii (47.18¢/kWh).
How much does it cost to leave Christmas lights on all night?
For 12 hours a night over 30 days, 1,000 LED minis cost about $3.14 and 1,000 incandescent minis about $26.67. Left on around the clock, the incandescent set would reach about $53.35 a month. CPSC recommends turning holiday lights off when you go to bed.
How much does one string of Christmas lights cost per hour?
Less than a cent. A 4.8 W LED string costs about $0.0009 an hour at 18.16¢/kWh, and a 40.8 W incandescent string about $0.0074. A 25-bulb C9 incandescent string at 175 W costs about $0.03 an hour.
Do Christmas lights use a lot of electricity?
LED strings use very little. 1,000 LED minis at 6 hours a night use about 8.6 kWh a month, around 1% of the 899 kWh a month EIA says the average U.S. home uses. The same display in incandescent uses about 73 kWh, around 8%.
LED vs incandescent Christmas lights: which is cheaper?
LED, by a wide margin. A 100-light LED mini set is rated 4.8 W against 40.8 W for an incandescent set, so it costs about 88% less to run for the same hours. LED sets cost more to buy, but ENERGY STAR says certified strings last up to 10 times longer.
Do Christmas lights use more electricity than a bitcoin miner?
Far less. An 800 W Avalon Mini 3 home miner draws as much as about 166 LED mini strings. Run all day it uses 576 kWh over 30 days, about $105 at 18.16¢/kWh, against $1.57 for 1,000 LED minis at 6 hours a night. At the October 31, 2026 hashprice the miner earns back about 36% of its electricity, so its net cost is about $67.45 a month. Mining income moves with the bitcoin price and network difficulty; our bitcoin heater page recalculates it daily.
Sources
- U.S. EIA: Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: Average price of electricity by state, August 2026 (released Oct 23, 2026). Used for: U.S. average residential rate (18.16¢/kWh) and state rates
- Christmas Central: Technical light information. Used for: Incandescent mini set ratings: 35-light 14.4 W, 50-light 20.4 W, 100-light 40.8 W at 120 V
- The Home Depot: Home Accents Holiday 100-count multi-colored mini LED lights (22RT100SM-M) specifications. Used for: 100-light LED mini set rated 4.8 W; up to 45 sets connected (page blocks automated checks; confirmed via search listing)
- PG&E: The cost of holiday lights. Used for: Incandescent C7 at 5 W and C9 at 7 W per bulb; C-bulb strings of 25
- ENERGY STAR: Decorative light strings. Used for: No more than 0.2 W per bulb; one 7 W incandescent bulb could power 140 LEDs; 3-year warranty; up to 10 times longer life; outdoor weathering tests
- ENERGY STAR: Holiday light strings. Used for: Certified LED strings use about 70% less energy than incandescent strings
- U.S. CPSC: Holiday decoration safety tips (Publication 611). Used for: Tested lights, inspecting sets, no more than three standard-size sets per extension cord, turning lights off at bedtime, no lights on metallic trees
- U.S. CPSC: CPSC announces holiday season decorating safety tips (2005). Used for: UL or ETL tested lights with fused plugs; GFCI protection for outdoor lights; certified outdoor use
- U.S. EIA: How much electricity does an American home use?. Used for: Average U.S. residential customer about 899 kWh a month
- WattCost: hashprice (mempool.space), October 31, 2026, and Canaan Avalon Mini 3 specifications. Used for: Avalon Mini 3: 37.5 TH/s at 800 W; mining income at $33.02 per PH/s a day