Families may have to flick the off switch on extravagant Christmas light displays this year, with the news that they could easily rack up hundreds of pounds on energy bills.
While simple LED fairy lights cost pennies to run, households with more flamboyant taste in festive decorations should not be lured into a false sense of security - or they might get a nasty shock when the bill comes in. Debt company CreditFix has developed a tool which shines a light on how much each piece of festive decor costs to run per hour, and the results make sobering reading.
Creditfix calculated that Brits who love to decorate the outside of their houses with silhouettes of Christmas characters using rope lights will rack up big bills this year. Having five of these on for six hours a day could cost £510 if put them up on December 1 and take them down on December 31.
Read more: How to tackle your supplier if you think your energy bill is too high
And rope lights are not the worst offenders, with tinsel lights costing 59p per hour and Inflatable santas, snowmen and reindeers coming in at a heavyweight 61p per hour. If you have previously run a couple of rope light decorations and inflatable characters alongside your outdoor lights, it's easy to see how you could rack up a bill for hundreds of pounds this year pretty easily.
The list of average prices, according to CreditFix is:
- Rope Light (eg. LED Merry Christmas Rope Light): 55p per hour
- Tinsel Ligh t (eg. LED Christmas Tree Tinsel Light): 59p per hour
- Motif (eg. LED snowflake light): 44p per hour
- Inflatable (eg. inflatable Santa): 61p per hour
- Freestanding items (eg. light-up snowman): 12p per hour
- Fairy lights: 2p per hour
The tool is a handy built of kit that lets you work out how much your total display might cost, by allowing you to choose which lights you have, how many hours you plan to run them per day and how many days your display will be up. By allowing you to pick a start and end date, you can see how much you could save if you hold off for a day or two.
The figures were calculated by looking at 16 different Christmas light items available from Wilko and Argos, and using the current kwh/hour costs of 34p to understand how much it will cost per hour to use each item
The most expensive light to run is a Santa rope light archway, costing £6.08 to run for six hours a day, which equates to more than £188 for the month. Homes with ten Christmas characters which are lit up for over six hours a day throughout December and until January 5 - the 12th day of Christmas - could face paying over £1,000 for extra electricity.
But the good news is an average set of indoor mains-powered fairy lights would cost just 12p per day to run for six hours a day, compared to an LED inflatable, such as an inflatable Santa, would cost £3.67 to run for the same period.
Layla Johnson, regional manager at Creditfix said: “We all know this Christmas will be more difficult this year. Rising energy costs only add to the growing pressure that other seasonal spending such as bigger food shops and presents are likely to cause. Like all household outgoings, it pays off to be aware of how much you’re spending. This is why we decided to gather the data and create a calculator for people to use. The results are surprising – it’s reassuring to learn that a popular set of indoor fairy lights is the cheapest option. Even indulging in a fun freestanding decoration could cost less than £1 per day to run.
“If people don’t wait to cut back on the number of lights they put up this year, they could compromise on cost by waiting a week or two until they plug them in, and still enjoy the magic of Christmas on a budget.”
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