Are LED (light emitting diode) Christmas lights worth buying? I heard they use very little electricity, but I'm not sure it makes sense to spend money to replace lights that only stay on for a month or so.
Your energy savings would depend on what kind of lights you'd be replacing, how many strands you'd use, and how long you'd keep your lights on. To give you an estimate, let's say you have 300 bulbs and you keep them lit five hours each day for 45 days. At a rate of 12.5 cents per kilowatt hour, you would spend about $34 to light large, non-LED bulbs and around $3.40 for mini non-LEDs. The cost of keeping LED bulbs lit for the same amount of time would be about 85 cents.
Another financial consideration is replacement cost. LED Christmas lights can last 20 years, so from a purchase-price perspective, they're cost-effective. I'll also mention that LEDs don't use a heated filament to produce light, so they run cooler, reducing fire risk. Whether you decide on LEDs or not, have a great holiday season.
Li Ling for The Home Team