One 100-bulb mini string, 40 days
- Input
- 100 mini, 6 h x 40 d
- Expected output
- 1680 Wh LED | 9600 Wh
In kWh, 1.68 against 9.6. At an example $0.18 per kWh, $0.30 against $1.73.
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christmas lights electricity cost
A string of 100 mini LED lights on for 6 hours a day over 40 days uses 1.68 kWh, and a standard incandescent string uses 9.6 kWh. The cost is that usage times the rate on your bill. Below are the formula, the wattage by string type and examples for the whole season.
In kWh, 1.68 against 9.6. At an example $0.18 per kWh, $0.30 against $1.73.
In incandescent the tree uses 57.6 kWh against 10.08 kWh in LED: 240 W against 42 W.
In the source, at $0.165 per kWh: $3.12 in LED against $17.82 in incandescent.
The 175 W of an incandescent C9 string draw 25 times the 7 W of an LED one: 42 kWh against 1.68 kWh.
That is 10 W in LED against 63 W incandescent, over 180 hours: 1.8 kWh against 11.34 kWh.
About 600 lights for a standard 6 ft tree, which is six strings of 100. The rule is 100 lights per foot of height. A subtle look takes 429 to 514 lights and a packed one 600 to 857. Slim trees take fewer and full trees take more, because the count follows the width.
With LED, hardly at all: a whole tree uses about 10 kWh over the season. With incandescent strings the draw is 6 to 25 times higher, depending on the type, and several strings of C9 bulbs can add up on the bill.
At 12 hours a day for 40 days, a 100-bulb mini string uses 3.36 kWh in LED and 19.2 kWh incandescent. At an example $0.18 per kWh that is $0.60 against $3.46. A timer that cuts the lights overnight halves that usage or better.
Look at the label on the string, the plug or the box: it lists the watts, or the volts and amps. Volts times amps gives watts. Type the value under More options on the Energy tab and the table gets a row with your real wattage.
The one on your bill, taking the energy charge over the kWh used, taxes included. The calculator shows a value marked as an example and never treats it as fact. For a reference point, the EIA reports a U.S. residential average of 18.16 cents per kWh for August 2026, preliminary.
6 ft 0 in tree, about 41 in wide at the base.
600
6 strings of 100 lights, about 198 ft of wire
Rule: 100 lights per ft of height, times 1.00 for the tree shape (Govee, Christmas Central).
75
Range: 60 to 90
Rule: 12.5 ornaments per ft of height (Christmas Central, Old World Christmas, Christmas in America). Size split from the Christmas in America 7.5 ft chart.
42 ft
Range: 30 ft to 54 ft
Rule: 5 to 9 units of garland per unit of height; the look picks the point in the range (Christmas Central, Old World Christmas).
46 in
Range: 45 in to 47 in
Skirts sold for this height: 48 to 60 in.
Rule: width of the lowest branches plus 4 to 6 inches, 5 by default (Size-Charts.com, House Digest). Widths at 7.5 ft: slim 43 in, full 60 in.
Leave at least 11 3/4 in between the tree tip and the ceiling for a standard topper. Add the ceiling height under More options to check.
Rule: 12 in (30 cm) between the tip and the ceiling (Size-Charts.com).