It’s not only the cost of presents and Christmas dinner that is stretching the bank balances of Brits.
Our own fairy lights could be burning money as new research has found. Solar Together has looked at how much “the most wonderful time of the year” can actually end up costing us, and the results are shocking.
They say putting up a set of incandescent string lights can cost anywhere between £36.75 and £147 for the average 30-day period. It might be time to upgrade the old lights this year and invest in a new set of LED string lights since this will only set households back between £1.47 and £7.35 in energy costs over the same period.
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Meanwhile as Brits expect to spend up to £3.68 in energy to cook a single Turkey, chucking in all the sides we scoff throughout the day will cost an additional £5.15.
An average UK home with solar panel system installed would easily cover both the festive lights and the Christmas dinner with significant energy to spare. In fact, Brits could spend 1,380 hours watching their favourite Christmas movies with the remaining energy.
The numbers have been calculated using the average cost of electricity in the UK at 24.5 pence per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the period of October 1 2024 to December 31 2024.
(Image: Getty Images)
Solar Together is a group-buying initiative that enables UK households to purchase solar panels at competitive prices. By teaming up with local authorities, the scheme uses the collective buying power of residents to negotiate better rates from trusted solar panel providers.
Essex-based couple Ian and Diane Cable are saving an estimated £834 on their annual energy bills, with additional earnings of £64 from using an export tariff, thanks to the scheme. Their installation led to a 35% reduction in energy usage year-on-year, with an impressive 57% reduction in the months following installation of their solar panels.
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