Christmas is just around the corner, and who can resist decking the halls, walls, and every exterior feature of their home with bright, twinkling lights?

Christmas lights aren’t just a decoration. They’re a family activity, a celebration, a statement of your creativity, and in some neighborhoods, even a competition. 

While outdated incandescent lights and lighting features can run up your power bill considerably, there are many energy-efficient LED options that can make your holiday season even merrier and just as bright. And, with the growth of smart home technology, there are also dozens of new ways to decorate with smart Christmas lights!

As you light up your home, keep in mind how light pollution may impact your neighborhood and the surrounding animals. You can learn more about limiting light pollution here.

LED Christmas Lights

As you unpack your boxes and boxes of stored Christmas lights, pay attention to what kind they are. Chances are you’ve accumulated a variety of styles over the years, and some may be more energy-efficient than others.

For example, older three-inch incandescent C9 Christmas lights require about seven watts per bulb, amounting to roughly $176.40 in extra electricity costs if lit six hours per day for 35 days. The same three-inch LED C9 light requires just 0.09 watts at the expense of $2.27 for 35 days of festive lighting. 

Like the LED light bulbs adorning your year around light fixtures, LED Christmas lights consume about 80%-90% less energy than incandescent light bulbs. Chances are, your Christmas lighting display involves a lot more than just a few light bulbs you use to light your home daily, so it makes sense to do a little pre-planning to reduce your energy consumption and winter electricity bill. 

You can calculate your estimated Christmas light power consumption here.