Christmas lights (LED) and energy costs - could be better, could be worse ......... 19 September 2022 at 1:05PM in Energy 21 replies 1.5K views

mumf

Bin Christmas. No energy problems then! I hate Christmas.

GustyGardenGalaxy

mumf said:

Bin Christmas. No energy problems then! I hate Christmas.

Bah ............. (you can fill in the rest)

Steve_79_P

Miser1964 said:

Or cook the sprouts for 5 minutes less, the savings will pay for the Xmas lights. 

Or, even better, don't buy sprouts!

Coffeekup

I know for the previous 4 year's my 2x 200 led lights cost me £10 a month. They go up on or around the 1st of December and they come down in the first couple of days in January.

I can see this because I have 13 years or so of meter readings, and the last 2 sets I bought 4 years ago add around 40 kWh's a month to my December usage.
They are on for around 8 hours a day on average. This year I expect them to cost a couple of £ more. I'd post the info of them but it means going in the loft, so if you're interested you'll have to wait till December.

GustyGardenGalaxy

Coffeekup said:

I know for the previous 4 year's my 2x 200 led lights cost me £10 a month. They go up on or around the 1st of December and they come down in the first couple of days in January.

I can see this because I have 13 years or so of meter readings, and the last 2 sets I bought 4 years ago add around 40 kWh's a month to my December usage.
They are on for around 8 hours a day on average. This year I expect them to cost a couple of £ more. I'd post the info of them but it means going in the loft, so if you're interested you'll have to wait till December.

Thanks very much, very interesting and useful.

Given some of the running costs in this thread makes me wonder why some councils apparently won't be using Christmas lights this year as the costs for running LED lights obviously isn't terrible. Unless those councils are still using older incandescents .......... ?

[Deleted User]

Blackpool illuminations have been switching over to LED bulbs, which they reckon has saved them 75% on their energy bills.  Now media reports suggest it only costs £50,000 per month for the million-or-so bulbs used there at 2022 rates.

Grumpy_chap

Miser1964 said:

Or cook the sprouts for 5 minutes less, the savings will pay for the Xmas lights. 

According to our Delia cookbook, sprouts should only be cooked for 5 minutes.
5 minutes less cooking means raw sprouts - not appealing 😉

Spoonie_Turtle

GustyGardenGalaxy said:

Coffeekup said:

I know for the previous 4 year's my 2x 200 led lights cost me £10 a month. They go up on or around the 1st of December and they come down in the first couple of days in January.

I can see this because I have 13 years or so of meter readings, and the last 2 sets I bought 4 years ago add around 40 kWh's a month to my December usage.
They are on for around 8 hours a day on average. This year I expect them to cost a couple of £ more. I'd post the info of them but it means going in the loft, so if you're interested you'll have to wait till December.

Thanks very much, very interesting and useful.

Given some of the running costs in this thread makes me wonder why some councils apparently won't be using Christmas lights this year as the costs for running LED lights obviously isn't terrible. Unless those councils are still using older incandescents .......... ?

All adds up.  Don't forget all of their costs have risen already and their energy bills will be much higher this year even without adding Christmas lights into the mix. 

GustyGardenGalaxy

Spoonie_Turtle said:

GustyGardenGalaxy said:

Coffeekup said:

I know for the previous 4 year's my 2x 200 led lights cost me £10 a month. They go up on or around the 1st of December and they come down in the first couple of days in January.

I can see this because I have 13 years or so of meter readings, and the last 2 sets I bought 4 years ago add around 40 kWh's a month to my December usage.
They are on for around 8 hours a day on average. This year I expect them to cost a couple of £ more. I'd post the info of them but it means going in the loft, so if you're interested you'll have to wait till December.

Thanks very much, very interesting and useful.

Given some of the running costs in this thread makes me wonder why some councils apparently won't be using Christmas lights this year as the costs for running LED lights obviously isn't terrible. Unless those councils are still using older incandescents .......... ?

All adds up.  Don't forget all of their costs have risen already and their energy bills will be much higher this year even without adding Christmas lights into the mix. 

True, but what about the costs of NOT having Christmas lights? I would assume they've factored this in, but Christmas lights (and decorations) help to put people in the festive spirit which means they'll spend more (even during these tough times), and many will go into towns and cities just to enjoy the festive feeling. No lights = less people in town = less spending. Of course local shops can put up their own lights but council lights festooned around streets does add a lot.

I hope some towns and cities get a bit creative if there aren't any lights, for example find a way to use light emanating from shops and even street lights to illuminate static decorations, etc.

GustyGardenGalaxy

[Deleted User] said:

Blackpool illuminations have been switching over to LED bulbs, which they reckon has saved them 75% on their energy bills.  Now media reports suggest it only costs £50,000 per month for the million-or-so bulbs used there at 2022 rates.

Very interesting, this does though beg the question - how many councils who have said they'll not be using Christmas lights this year are still on the old energy hungry incandescent bulbs ..........