“Is your house on fire, Clark?” “No, Aunt Bethany, those are Christmas lights.”
One of the most memorable scenes in one of the most iconic Christmas movies ever made was when model father and Christmas connoisseur Clark Griswold blacked out the entire neighborhood with his 25,000 incandescent bulb light display in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
As a Food Preserver by trade, Griswold may have been stretching his wallet thin with this festive display, citing data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Using this data, the folks at Estately calculated the cost of both incandescent and LED holiday lights.
Here’s the formula used:
25,000 bulbs * 0.08 watts/bulb = 2,000 watts.
2,000 watts * (1 kilowatt / 1,000 watt) = 2 kilowatts
2 kilowatts * 5 hours per day = 10 kwh per day
10kwh * 31 days = 310 kwh
310kwh * each state’s average price per kwh
Estately
If lighting up your house for the Christmas season is your main priority, move to Louisiana or Washington state where it’s cheapest. Steer clear of Hawaii and Alaska.
Here’s how much it would cost state-by-state, via Estately:
ALABAMA: LED- $32 / Incandescent- $3,328
ALASKA: LED- $65 / Incandescent- $5,656
ARIZONA: LED- $40 / Incandescent- $3,464
ARKANSAS: LED- $32 / Incandescent- $2,829
CALIFORNIA: LED- $56 / Incandescent- $4,942
COLORADO: LED- $40 / Incandescent- $3,467
CONNECTICUT: LED- $59 / Incandescent- $5,146
DELAWARE: LED- $41 / Incandescent- $3,551
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: LED- $38 / Incandescent- $3,326
FLORIDA: LED- $35 / Incandescent- $3,090
GEORGIA: LED- $37 / Incandescent- $3,236
HAWAII: LED- $86 / Incandescent- $7,552
IDAHO: LED- $32 / Incandescent- $2,791
ILLINOIS: LED- $38 / Incandescent- $3,309
INDIANA: LED- $37 / Incandescent- $3,198
IOWA: LED- $39 / Incandescent- $3,450
KANSAS: LED- $40 / Incandescent- $3,505
KENTUCKY: LED- $32 / Incandescent- $2,840
LOUISIANA: LED- $30 / Incandescent- $2,582
MAINE: LED- $50 / Incandescent- $4,416
MARYLAND: LED- $44 / Incandescent- $3,808
MASSACHUSETTS:LED- $60 / Incandescent- $5,281
MICHIGAN: LED- $49 / Incandescent- $4,278
MINNESOTA: LED- $43 / Incandescent- $3,765
MISSISSIPPI: LED- $32 / Incandescent- $2,764
MISSOURI: LED- $35 / Incandescent- $3,054
MONTANA: LED- $36 / Incandescent- $3,152
NEBRASKA: LED- $38 / Incandescent- $3,347
NEVADA: LED- $35 / Incandescent- $3,033
NEW HAMPSHIRE: LED- $57 / Incandescent- $4,977
NEW JERSEY: LED- $50 / Incandescent- $4,383
NEW MEXICO: LED- $40 / Incandescent- $3,499
NEW YORK: LED- $57 / Incandescent- $4,986
NORTH CAROLINA: LED- $35 / Incandescent- $3,103
NORTH DAKOTA: LED- $37 / Incandescent- $3,222
OHIO: LED- $37 / Incandescent- $3,228
OKLAHOMA: LED- $34 / Incandescent- $3,014
OREGON: LED- $34 / Incandescent- $2,959
PENNSYLVANIA: LED- $44 / Incandescent- $3,844
RHODE ISLAND: LED- $64 / Incandescent- $5,558
SOUTH CAROLINA: LED- $39 / Incandescent- $3,456
SOUTH DAKOTA: LED- $39 / Incandescent- $3,388
TENNESSEE: LED- $33 / Incandescent- $2,864
TEXAS: LED- $35 / Incandescent- $3,019
UTAH: LED- $35 / Incandescent- $3,060
VERMONT: LED- $54 / Incandescent- $4,755
VIRGINIA: LED- $36 / Incandescent- $3,179
WASHINGTON: LED- $30 / Incandescent- $2,615
WEST VIRGINIA: LED- $36 / Incandescent- $3,144
WISCONSIN: LED- $46 / Incandescent- $4,006
WYOMING: LED- $37 / Incandescent- $3,201
Merry Christmas, ya’ll.
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