It’s a holiday tradition for millions of Americans, but oftentimes, illuminating our homes with flashing lights and moving displays comes at a high cost.
People tend to go all out on their holiday light displays but having the brightest house on the block doesn’t come cheap and folks get a monthly reminder in their energy bill.
“There are some amazing displays out there, that’s a lot of lights and the LED’s will help contribute to hopefully a lower electric bill,” said Mitch Gross, Eversource spokesman.
Eversource experts actually took the time to break it down to dollars and cents. Here’s an example: if you keep your lights on for five hours a night for the entire month of December that amounts to about 150 hours.
“Incandescent mini lights, they’re going to use about 40 watts each,” said Gross.
That’s only for three strands of lights. LED use a lot less.
“They use less than five watts of power and over the same time period it’s only going to cost you 50 cents,” said Gross.
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LED lights almost always cost more though so we did some research on Lowes’ website.
For a 100 count of GE brand incandescent lights it will cost you about $4. For the LED version you’re looking at about $20.
“They’re going to save you money, they’re cooler to the touch, they last years and years longer and they’re basically a better investment over the long run,” said Gross.
Eversource also says investing in a timer like this one is also a really big money saver that way you don’t forget to turn off those lights in and outside your home.
