What it costs to run Christmas lights
Last updated · Prices: U.S. EIA, August 2026
How these numbers are madeReport an error
A 100-light string of incandescent minis costs about $1.74 to run for a 40-night season at 6 hours a night. The same string in LED costs $0.31. Every wattage below is from a named source, and every price from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's August 2026 residential figures.
Quick answers at the U.S. average price (18.16¢ per kWh)
| Lights | Watts | Per night | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incandescent mini lights (string of 100) | 40 W | $0.04 | $1.74 |
| LED mini lights (string of 100) | 7 W | $0.01 | $0.31 |
| C9 incandescent bulbs (strand of 25) | 175 W | $0.19 | $7.63 |
| C7 incandescent bulbs (strand of 25) | 125 W | $0.14 | $5.45 |
| C9 LED bulbs (strand of 25) | 12.5 W | $0.01 | $0.54 |
| C7 LED bulbs (strand of 25) | 12 W | $0.01 | $0.52 |
| Large inflatable (blower and lights) (each) | 150 W | $0.16 | $6.54 |
6 hours a night; a season is 40 nights. The calculator below uses your own numbers.
Your display, at the U.S. average price, costs about
$3.05 for the season
$0.08 a night. About 70 watts, 16.8 kWh at 18.16¢ per kWh. Strings draw their full rating whenever they are lit; a timer is the easiest way to cut hours.
Where the wattages come from
A light string draws its rated wattage the whole time it is lit, so the cost is watts × hours × your price per kWh. These are the figures this page uses. The rating for your own lights is printed on the box or the tag near the plug.
| Lights | Per bulb | Per unit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incandescent mini lights | 0.4 W | 40 W / string of 100 | PG&E: Cost of holiday lights (watts per bulb) |
| LED mini lights | 0.07 W | 7 W / string of 100 | PG&E: Cost of holiday lights (watts per bulb) |
| C9 incandescent bulbs | 7 W | 175 W / strand of 25 | PG&E: Cost of holiday lights (watts per bulb) |
| C7 incandescent bulbs | 5 W | 125 W / strand of 25 | PG&E: Cost of holiday lights (watts per bulb) |
| C9 LED bulbs | 0.5 W | 12.5 W / strand of 25 | 1000Bulbs product spec, VividCore C9 LED (CMS-C9WWDLXS) |
| C7 LED bulbs | 0.48 W | 12 W / strand of 25 | 1000Bulbs product spec, VividCore C7 LED (CMS-10260) |
| Large inflatable (blower and lights) | – | 150 W / each | Entergy: Deflate your holiday costs with inflatable decorations (Nov 26, 2021)A utility estimate for a large inflatable, not a product label. Check the rating on your own blower. |
C7 and C9 strands vary in length; the table prices a strand of 25 bulbs, so scale by your own bulb count. ENERGY STAR certified decorative light strings may draw no more than 0.2 watts per lamp (Version 1.5 specification), and ENERGY STAR says they use about 70% less energy than incandescent strings. On PG&E's per-bulb figures, a 100-light LED mini string uses about 83% less than the incandescent version.
A 10-string display in every state
Ten 100-light strings, 6 hours a night for 40 nights, at each state's average August 2026 residential price.
| State | Price | Incandescent | LED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 47.18¢ | $45.29 | $7.93 |
| Maine | 32.11¢ | $30.83 | $5.39 |
| Massachusetts | 30.48¢ | $29.26 | $5.12 |
| California | 29.75¢ | $28.56 | $5.00 |
| Alaska | 29.41¢ | $28.23 | $4.94 |
| New York | 28.65¢ | $27.50 | $4.81 |
| Rhode Island | 28.18¢ | $27.05 | $4.73 |
| New Hampshire | 27.64¢ | $26.53 | $4.64 |
| District of Columbia | 25.98¢ | $24.94 | $4.36 |
| New Jersey | 24.61¢ | $23.63 | $4.13 |
| Connecticut | 24.51¢ | $23.53 | $4.12 |
| Vermont | 23.84¢ | $22.89 | $4.01 |
| Michigan | 22.99¢ | $22.07 | $3.86 |
| Pennsylvania | 21.77¢ | $20.90 | $3.66 |
| Maryland | 21.40¢ | $20.54 | $3.60 |
| Wisconsin | 19.41¢ | $18.63 | $3.26 |
| Ohio | 19.38¢ | $18.60 | $3.26 |
| Illinois | 19.32¢ | $18.55 | $3.25 |
| Delaware | 18.70¢ | $17.95 | $3.14 |
| Virginia | 17.64¢ | $16.93 | $2.96 |
| Minnesota | 17.20¢ | $16.51 | $2.89 |
| Colorado | 17.17¢ | $16.48 | $2.88 |
| Iowa | 17.06¢ | $16.38 | $2.87 |
| Indiana | 17.02¢ | $16.34 | $2.86 |
| New Mexico | 16.51¢ | $15.85 | $2.77 |
| Alabama | 16.33¢ | $15.68 | $2.74 |
| West Virginia | 16.31¢ | $15.66 | $2.74 |
| Missouri | 16.02¢ | $15.38 | $2.69 |
| Oregon | 15.92¢ | $15.28 | $2.67 |
| Texas | 15.91¢ | $15.27 | $2.67 |
| Georgia | 15.90¢ | $15.26 | $2.67 |
| South Carolina | 15.76¢ | $15.13 | $2.65 |
| Montana | 15.57¢ | $14.95 | $2.62 |
| Kansas | 15.47¢ | $14.85 | $2.60 |
| South Dakota | 15.15¢ | $14.54 | $2.55 |
| Arizona | 15.05¢ | $14.45 | $2.53 |
| Florida | 14.99¢ | $14.39 | $2.52 |
| North Carolina | 14.95¢ | $14.35 | $2.51 |
| Oklahoma | 14.82¢ | $14.23 | $2.49 |
| Washington | 14.63¢ | $14.04 | $2.46 |
| Mississippi | 14.43¢ | $13.85 | $2.42 |
| Wyoming | 14.43¢ | $13.85 | $2.42 |
| Arkansas | 14.37¢ | $13.80 | $2.41 |
| Kentucky | 13.80¢ | $13.25 | $2.32 |
| Nebraska | 13.54¢ | $13.00 | $2.27 |
| Tennessee | 13.42¢ | $12.88 | $2.25 |
| Idaho | 13.37¢ | $12.84 | $2.25 |
| North Dakota | 13.31¢ | $12.78 | $2.24 |
| Utah | 13.31¢ | $12.78 | $2.24 |
| Louisiana | 12.87¢ | $12.36 | $2.16 |
| Nevada | 12.72¢ | $12.21 | $2.14 |
Ways to bring the number down
Put the lights on a timer so they run only in the evening, swap the strings you use most for LED, and unplug inflatables overnight. If an outdoor string keeps tripping a GFCI outlet, see how to reset a circuit breaker. For heating costs this winter, see what a space heater costs to run.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much does it cost to run Christmas lights?
- At the August 2026 U.S. average residential rate of 18.16¢ per kWh, a string of 100 incandescent mini lights (about 40 watts) costs $0.04 for a 6-hour night and $1.74 over a 40-night season. The same string in LED (about 7 watts) costs $0.31 for the season.
- Are LED Christmas lights cheaper to run?
- Yes. Using PG&E's per-bulb figures, a 100-light LED mini string draws about 7 watts against 40 watts for incandescent, roughly 83% less. ENERGY STAR says certified LED light strings use about 70% less energy than incandescent strings. For 10 strings over a 40-night season, that is $17.43 incandescent versus $3.05 LED at the U.S. average price.
- How many watts does a string of Christmas lights use?
- PG&E puts incandescent mini lights at 0.4 watts a bulb, so about 40 watts for a 100-light string; LED minis at 0.07 watts a bulb, about 7 watts a string. Larger bulbs use far more: about 5 watts per incandescent C7 and 7 watts per C9, against roughly half a watt for LED C7 or C9 bulbs. The rating is printed on the box or the plug tag.
- How much does it cost to run an inflatable Christmas decoration?
- Entergy estimates a large inflatable at about 150 watts for its blower and lights. At the U.S. average price that is $0.16 for a 6-hour night and $6.54 over 40 nights. Smaller inflatables use less; the rating is on the blower's label.
Link to this calculator
Writing about holiday lighting costs? Paste this into your page to link readers here.
Sources
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (August 2026, residential)
- PG&E: Cost of holiday lights (watts per bulb)
- 1000Bulbs product spec, VividCore C9 LED (CMS-C9WWDLXS)
- 1000Bulbs product spec, VividCore C7 LED (CMS-10260)
- Entergy: Deflate your holiday costs with inflatable decorations (Nov 26, 2021)
- ENERGY STAR: Decorative light strings
You're welcome to cite or link this page. Prices are EIA's August 2026 figures. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit Askento with a link.