Incandescent holiday light strands draw 40W per 100 lights. LED strands draw 4W per 100 lights. The 10x energy difference matters at scale. A typical home with 10 incandescent strands running 6 hours per day for 30 days uses 72 kWh and costs $11.50 at 16 cents per kWh. The same home with LED strands uses 7.2 kWh and costs $1.15.
Per-strand wattage comparison
Incandescent 100-light strand: 40 watts continuous. LED 100-light strand: 4 watts continuous. The 10x ratio holds across most product types.
Higher-end LED strands (warm white, RGB color-changing) draw 5 to 7 watts. Still dramatically less than incandescent equivalent.
December bill add-on
10 strands × 40W × 6 hours/day × 30 days = 72 kWh = $11.50 in incandescent. Same setup in LED = 7.2 kWh = $1.15.
Larger displays (50+ strands, outdoor inflatables, projection lights) can add $30 to $80 to a December bill. Switching to LED on everything cuts that by 80 to 90 percent.
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