Energy Expert Works Out How Much It Would Cost to Light Your Home Like the Griswolds’ in 2024

Since its release in 1989, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation has been a classic favourite amongst Christmas movie fans across the world. One of the most iconic scenes in the movie is when Clark Griswold lights up the entire outside of his home with a whopping 25,000 Christmas lights (imported Italian twinkle lights, to be precise).

The over-the-top light display infuriates the neighbours and briefly causes a blackout for the entire neighbourhood, but have you ever wondered how much the impressive light display would cost to run? Well, you no longer need to wonder, as William Hobbs, an energy expert for MyJobQuote.co.uk, has worked out exactly how much this extravagant light display would cost at the current energy price cap in the UK, and it’s rather shocking. Let’s take a look at the calculations below…

Calculating The Cost to Run The Griswold’s Christmas Lights at The Current Energy Price Cap

In the movie, Clark explains that he’s used “250 strands of lights, 100 individual bulbs per strand, for a grand total of 25,000 imported Italian twinkle lights”. Now, we know that LED lighting wasn’t a thing back in the ‘80s. So, what kind of lights was he using? If you look closely, you can see that the boxes that Clark and his son Rusty unpack are labelled “C9 Christmas Lights”. These large incandescent bulbs were a very popular bulb choice at the time.

Just one of these bulbs uses 7 watts of electricity to operate. This means that one strand of 100 bulbs would use 700 watts to run, and the full 250 strands that Clark displays on his home would use a whopping 175,000 watts.

So, what does that mean in terms of costs?

Under the current direct debit cap, the average price of electricity is around £0.24 per kWh, including VAT. This means that it would cost roughly £42 per hour to run all of those 25,000 twinkle lights. Now, let's say Clark runs his Christmas lights for eight hours each day of December – this would result in a total cost of £10,416!  

How Much Could Clark Have Saved Using LED Lights?

As we know, LED lights didn't exist back when the move was made. If it was re-shot today, it's more than likely that LEDs would be the bulb of choice. So, how much would Clark save if he were to recreate the light display today with LED bulbs?

LED lights are significantly more energy-efficient than incandescent lights. On average, LED lights use about 75% less electricity than incandescent lights to produce the same amount of light. This means that switching to LED lights can lead to significant savings on energy bills.

Incandescent bulbs convert most of the energy they consume into heat, with only a small portion being emitted as light. This makes them very inefficient. In contrast, LED lights use semiconductor technology to produce light directly, resulting in much higher energy efficiency.

If we were to work out the same calculation again (running the lights for 8 hours per day over 31 days), the display would cost around £2,604 if LED bulbs were used instead of incandescent bulbs – it's still an excessive amount to spend on running Christmas lights. However, we can clearly see how much of an impact LEDs have on energy savings.

WILLIAM HOBBS: William Hobbs is an expert in sustainability and energy. Having previously worked as an electrician, William has expertise in the electric field. In recent years, William has moved on to sustainability and energy consultancy as well as providing his advice and expertise for MyJobQuote. William's expert tips and comments have been featured in a range of leading press outlets. 

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