LED Christmas lights cost more upfront, but are worth the extra money because they can help you save substantially over incandescent lights. LED lights conserve up to 90% of the energy that incandescent lights use, for savings over multiple seasons. The longer lifespan of LED lights also means buying less lights over time.

LED Christmas lights cost more than incandescent Christmas lights, which makes sense because LED Christmas lights offer greater value in efficiency and longevity. LED Christmas lights save up to 90% of the energy that incandescent lights use, which means a significant savings on your electricity bill. You can find out the considerable cost savings between LED and incandescent lights by comparing the energy usage of both.

The first table below lists power consumption from LED lights in an example display:

 

Type of Light Application # of Bulbs Total Watts
LED Conical Light Sets Tree & Foliage Lighting 2450 31.5 Watts
LED C9 Retrofit Bulbs Roofline Perimeter 200 192 Watts
LED C9 Stringer Sets Driveway and sidewalk outline 150 13.5 Watts

 

The second table shows power consumption using incandescent lights in the same example display:

 

Type of Light Application # of Bulbs Total Watts
Incandescent Mini Light Tree & Foliage Lighting 2450 1004.50 Watts
Incandescent C9 Bulbs Roofline Perimeter 200 1400 Watts
Incandescent C9 Bulbs Driveway and sidewalk outline 150 1050 Watts

 

The all-LED display in the first table consumes about 237 watts, while the all-incandescent display consumes 2,800 watts. Based on the average price of electricity in a 45-day holiday season, from Thanksgiving to New Years, in which Christmas lights run for 7 hours a day, the example LED display costs $10.46 to run versus $123.48 for the incandescent display. This is a huge difference that compounds year-over-year.

You can figure the power consumption of this example display and of others by plugging in the appropriate values using this electricity cost calculator.

You’ll see a return on investment in LED lights over incandescent lights in as few as 2 to 3 years. And LED lights that are cared for properly can last far beyond 2 to 3 years. High quality, professional-grade LED Christmas lights last 25,000 to 75,000 hours, which is approximately 6 or 7 seasons. Incandescent Christmas lights don’t even come close to this amount of time, providing only about 3,000 hours of use.

A high quality set of pro-grade LED Christmas lights can outlast dozens of incandescent Christmas lights sets, saving you not just the money for all of those sets, but also the time and energy that goes into buying each set. And pro-grade LED lights offer the additional advantage of a one-piece design that protects the lights from failure and breakage. This design prevents water and debris from finding its way into the light socket where it can cause harm to the components.

Find out more ways to save on Christmas lights and other decorations in our guide that could help you keep lots more of your coin.

And if you’re ready for energy-efficient LED Christmas lights that will help you save money in the long-run, browse our selection of bright and fun styles for your next display.