Day 5 Advent Calendar: Cost of Christmas Lights.

Calculating your energy costs is easier than it sounds...

The Cost of Christmas Lights Using Watts and Kilowatt Hours.

With energy prices set to increase again this year, how much does it cost to spread Christmas cheer?

Christmas lights brighten dark winter evenings, but many people worry about the cost of running them.

Today’s Skill that Counts uses Functional Skills Level 2 calculations to estimate the true cost of switching on a set of LED lights throughout December.

You buy a string of LED lights for your window display.

The label states:

Power rating: 12 watts:

Time switched on: 6 hours per day

Electricity tariff: 34 pence per kilowatt hour

We have all the information needed for our step-by-step calculations.

Step 1: Convert watts to kilowatts

Electricity is charged per kilowatt hour.

1 kilowatt = 1,000 watts.

12 watts = 12 ÷ 1,000 = 0.012 kW

Dividing and Multiplying by 10, 100, and 1,000 is a Skill that Counts.

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Step 2: Work out the energy used per day

Energy used = power in kW × hours used

0.012 × 6 = 0.072 kWh per day

Step 3: Work out the daily cost

Cost = kWh × tariff 0.072 × £0.34 = £0.02448

Rounded to the nearest penny:

£0.02 per day

Monetary calculations are ALWAYS to 2 decimal places.

If you need any resources to build this skill, drop me an email or leave a comment for FREE RESOURCES.

Step 4: Work out the December total

31 days × £0.02 = £0.62

Even if you doubled the lights, the monthly cost would still be around £1.24.

Modern LED lights use very little electricity.

Clear, step-by-step calculations show that the cost is far lower than many people expect.

This is a useful confidence-building activity that links real-life budgeting to Skills that Count.

Try working out the cost of other electrical equipment in your home and share your results in the comments, or drop us an email mathsinamonth2024@gmail.com