With Christmas fast approaching, families across the country will be keen to dig out their decorations and light their homes for the festive season.
But as energy prices continue to soar, many will be hesitant to go all-out on Christmas lights this year.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in his Autumn budget that energy bills will rocket by a further £500 to an average £3,000 a year from April.
It means Brits will be wanting to cut down on their usage in any way that they can, especially over Christmas, where spending is typically higher.
The good news is that the cost to run your fairy lights is a lot cheaper than you might think.
You'll just need to use energy efficient LED bulbs for the cheapest prices.
Uswitch told The Mirror that 200 LED fairy lights would cost much less than a penny to run for an hour, at just 0.2 per hour.
This means keeping your fairy lights on for six hours would cost just 1.2p
Sarah Broomfield, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said: “The cost of heating the home will be most households’ biggest energy bill worry this Christmas.
“But when it comes to Christmas lights, the good news is that they do not cost too much to run if they use energy efficient LED bulbs.
“Last year only one in ten households were still lighting their trees and festive displays with inefficient halogen and incandescent bulbs, which burn 320% more electricity than their LED equivalents.
“A household with a string of 200 LED fairy lights would expect to increase their bills by just 27p if used for six hours a day for 22 days over the whole festive period based on the current price cap.”
It comes as some public light displays will be cut back this year to tackle the UK’s growing energy crisis.
Oxford Street's iconic Christmas lights will only stay on for a third of their usual length of time due to rising bills.
This year, the lights will only be on from 3pm to 11pm, rather than its usual 24/7 period.
New West End Company, who operate the lights, said: "We're entering a challenging festive period with a cost of living and energy crisis.
"Our 300,000 LED lights will be on for shorter hours - from 3pm-11pm - reducing energy consumption by 2/3rds, while still offering a festive experience."
The company told the Metro that the decision was an "important" one to make in the current climate in order to help reduce energy consumption and help to promote a more sustainable Christmas.
