What lighting & small appliances cost to run
Lighting is where the cheapest fix in the house lives. Everything here costs pennies to run — but an incandescent bulb costs several times what an LED does for exactly the same light, every hour, for years.
| Appliance | Per month | Per year | On this assumption |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas / string lights | $6.63 | $79.54 | 200W for 6 h a day |
| LED light bulb | $0.25 | $2.98 | 9W for 5 h a day |
| Incandescent bulb | $1.66 | $19.89 | 60W for 5 h a day |
| String / fairy lights | $0.83 | $9.94 | 30W for 5 h a day |
| Phone charger | $0.08 | $0.99 | 5W for 3 h a day |
Each figure comes from that appliance's own usage model — a fridge is costed on how much of the day its compressor runs, a dishwasher on energy per cycle and cycles per week, an EV on miles driven. Open any calculator to change the assumption to yours.
Data basis
- Electricity price
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.B, June 2026 year to date, released 2026-08-26. Retrieved 2026-09-11. Average residential revenue per kWh. A benchmark average, not a utility tariff — it excludes the fixed charges, tiers, time-of-use windows, taxes and fuel adjustments on a real bill.
- International prices
- rounded typical household tariffs for each market, in that market's own currency unless the row says US$ equivalent. These are planning benchmarks with no single primary source; enter the per-kWh price from your own bill for an accurate figure.
- Last reviewed
- 20 August 2026. Next scheduled review 20 February 2027.
- Corrections
- Think a figure is wrong? Tell us at corrections@watt-dollar.com and see our corrections policy.