christmas lights: The hidden cost

At Millies Engineering Group, the beautiful lights that mark the holiday season hold a special place in our hearts. There's no doubt, it's with a heavy heart that we take down the decorations in the new year. Yet, despite the joy and beauty they bring to the season, they come with a price. If Clark Griswald decorated his home in today's energy price, he'd be paying close to $2,000! The impact isn't just on our wallets, but also our environment and sustainability efforts. Ever wondered about the full impact of this global tradition? Read on to learn more and get some tips on lowering your energy bill! 

In short, America uses a monumental amount of electricity during the Holiday Season, with some individual states using more than entire countries do in an entire year! Yet, not all lights are created equally. It's well known that LEDs are more cost effective, meaning those heirloom incandescent bulbs might need to be retired! Even so, just the tree takes quite a bit of lights – about ten boxes of the standard 45 watt bulbs found at grocery stores. If you keep your home lit up from Thanksgiving to New Years Day (45 days), the price tag can really start to add up. 

Pew Research Center estimates 90% of the USA celebrates Christmas. Though not everyone puts up lights, let's say all 105 million or so households did in 2024. With the average price of a kWh at $0.176 in November, that's almost 200 million dollars of extra energy costs! The energy company Arcadia estimates that the United States uses approximately 3.5 billion kWh of additional energy to light their decorations. That amount of energy could power the country of Jamaica for an entire year! 

In our growing world, it's important to be mindful of how traditions can affect our environment and efforts for a more sustainable future. As for our office, we'll be taking down the décor even sooner after learning about the full impact!