Christmas lights are a staple of the festive season, but will add to electricity bills
Christmas is almost here(Image: Sol de Zuasnabar Brebbia via Getty Images)
Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert has revealed a useful tool to help Britons work out the expense of their Christmas lights this year. The calculator enables users to enter the type of decoration, how long it’s used daily, and the number of days, before giving an estimated total cost.
For example, according to MSE, a string of LED lights featuring between 500 and 1000 bulbs, switched on for eight hours daily across a fortnight, will cost you around 18p. But if the lights are traditional incandescent bulbs instead of LEDs, this amount jumps to approximately £1.93 over the same timeframe.
If you’re thinking of having a moving illuminated decoration, such as a bobbing reindeer, for the same period, the projected cost is “about 35p”. And for a large inflatable decoration, like a Father Christmas for example, MSE predicts a 44p bill for eight hours daily across two weeks.
MSE states: “We’ve calculated this for standard light / decoration sets, so we’ve had to make some assumptions (unless you entered your own wattage) as clearly there can be a whole host of variance on specific sets.
“Yet we hope it illuminates the rough cost of your lights for you.”
You can access the MSE Christmas lights calculator tool here
