So for permanent displays, a plug-in kit is oftentimes the better choice. On the other hand, batteries do have a limited lifespan. For outdoor areas or temporary displays, battery-powered lights can be a simpler, easier choice. And with today’s technology getting smaller and smaller, there’s no need to rely on plug-in lights. Whether you want to add illumination behind sheer curtains or brighten an outside display, they get the job done. The important thing here is fairy lights (battery-operated or plug-in) don’t add a huge amount to your energy bill, so don’t let it take away the Christmas spirit.Fairy string lights are a great way to add flair to any home. Instead of 6 hours, you could cut down to four or five hours. Whichever lights you already own, the same can be said for both plug-in and battery operated- you can save costs by cutting down their running time. But in the long term, plug-in lights will work out cheaper. Generally, battery-powered fairy lights are cheaper to buy than plug-in fairy lights, so if you’re out buying new ones you should factor that in. It’s a waste of money and your own energy. It’s easy to think batteries could be cheaper as you only have to buy a set of batteries and that will do the job.īut remember, over Christmas, the dark nights draw in quicker and the lights switch on early, which means having to keep changing the batteries when they run out.
Sarah from Uswitch (opens in new tab) said: “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. To keep energy costs low over Christmas, opt for plug-in fairy lights. The verdictĮnergy cost (6 hours per day over 43 days) That’s a hefty price to keep fairy lights running over Christmas. If you buy the AA batteries from Argos, that’s 2 packs of 12 which would cost £15. This means you would need to change the batteries at least 8 times to cover 43 days, and for batteries to last you over these 43 days, you would need 24 batteries. So if you take that as a benchmark, the average family has its fairy lights on for 6 hours a day over 43 days to cover Christmas- so after every 6 days, your batteries would need changing. Light4fun says typically 2 to 3 AA batteries in fairy lights last for up to 50 hours. But these lights don’t say how long they last.įrom Argos, you can get a pack of 4 AA batteries (opens in new tab) for £4.25 or a pack of 12 which is £7.50 (opens in new tab). These 5M battery fairy lights from Festive Lights cost £9.99 and require three AA batteries. So the running cost of battery-operated fairy lights depends on how much the batteries cost, how long they last and how long you have your lights on. The difference with battery-operated fairy lights is you’re not technically consuming energy from your home, but from the battery instead. How much does it cost to use battery-operated fairy lights? Primark is a great go-to for affordable plug-in fairy lights like 100 LED Cluster Lights for £6 (opens in new tab) or 200 LED Garland Curtain String Lights (opens in new tab) for £12. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a huge expense to run plug-in Christmas lights for the average period over December, but right now every penny counts so you might want to look at alternatives.
That’s a £5.16 price difference and in price, the 400 LED lights cost £25, whereas the 1500 LED lights cost a whopping £45. That works out to be 18p per day if lights are on for 6 hours every day and £7.74 for 43 days. This means it costs the average household 6p per day and £2.58 for 43 days to run (based on the current 0.34p kWh).īut the cost of fairy lights can vary, for example, Dunelm’s 1500 LED (opens in new tab) White Cluster Lights cost 3p per hour to run as shown on their website. Some fairy lights cost as little as 1p to run per hour, for example, the 400 LED Mains Powered Multicoloured lights from Dunelm (opens in new tab), the retailer has displayed on their website. According to Uswitch (opens in new tab), the average household puts Christmas lights up from 26 November to 6 Jan (43 days) and our sister site Ideal Home (opens in new tab) says households tend to keep it on for 6 hours per day.
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