With the Christmas festivities just behind us, it’s a fitting time to reflect on the aspects of our holiday celebrations, particularly the energy consumption of our decorations. This year, our home featured a 7-foot Balsam Hill pre-lit Christmas tree adorned with 600 LED lights, which presented an excellent opportunity to assess energy efficiency during this festive period.
The allure of the Balsam Hill tree extends beyond its visual appeal to its energy-efficient design. The LED lights emulate the warm glow of traditional lights but consume significantly less power. To precisely track its energy use, we connected the tree to an Eve Energy smart plug. This handy tool not only allowed us to schedule the lights’ operation but also provided detailed data on electricity usage.
In terms of power consumption, the tree was notably extremely efficient. Operating at about 4 watts per hour, its daily usage amounted to 48 watts over 12 hours. Over the span of a month, this equates to roughly 1.44 kilowatt-hours. Considering our electricity rate of 30p per kilowatt-hour, the cost of lighting up the tree for the entire month was approximately 43p.
As we continue to enjoy the lingering festive atmosphere, it’s comforting to realise that the charm of a brightly lit Christmas tree didn’t lead to excessive energy consumption or high costs.