One question homeowners often ask before installing permanent outdoor lights is whether they use a lot of electricity.
The good news is that LED lighting is generally very energy efficient.
Permanent outdoor lights can stay installed all year, but that does not mean they need to stay on all night or run at full brightness every day.
LED Lights Use Less Power
Permanent outdoor lighting systems use LED modules, which use much less electricity than older-style bulbs.
The actual power use depends on a few things:
- How many lights are installed
- The total length of the roofline
- Brightness level
- Colours being used
- How many hours the lights stay on
- The type of lighting system
A larger home with more lights will naturally use more power than a smaller front-only installation.
Brightness Makes a Difference
Most permanent lighting systems let you control brightness from the app.
You usually do not need to run the lights at 100% brightness.
For everyday warm white lighting, a lower brightness level can still look very good and use less electricity.
For holidays or special events, you can increase the brightness when needed.
You Can Use a Schedule
This is one of the easiest ways to control electricity use.
Instead of leaving the lights on all night, you can set a schedule.
For example, the lights can turn on in the evening and automatically turn off at 10:00 or 11:00 p.m.
That way, you get the lighting effect without wasting power during the middle of the night.
Do Different Colours Use Different Amounts of Power?
Yes, there can be some difference.
Permanent RGB lighting creates different colours by using combinations of red, green, and blue LEDs.
Some colours and full white settings may use more power than a single colour.
Brightness still has a big effect, so lowering the brightness can reduce power use.
For most homeowners, the difference is not something they notice much on the electricity bill.
What About Warm White Every Night?
A lot of homeowners use permanent lights as regular exterior accent lighting.
Warm white is a popular choice because it gives the home a clean look without feeling like holiday lighting.
If you use warm white for a few hours each evening, the system can still be very practical.
You can also reduce brightness to around the level you actually need instead of running everything at maximum.
Bigger Homes Need More Power
A 100-foot installation will use less electricity than a 250-foot installation because there are fewer lights.
Larger systems may also require more than one power supply.
That is normal.
The power supply does not mean the lights are constantly using the maximum amount of power. The actual use depends on what the lights are doing at that time.
Does Permanent Lighting Increase the Hydro Bill a Lot?
Usually, not dramatically.
Because the system uses LED lighting and can be scheduled, most homeowners can control how much they use it.
If the lights are only on for a few hours each evening, the electricity cost is normally much lower than people expect.
The exact cost depends on the size of the installation and local electricity rates.
You Do Not Need to Leave Them On
Permanent means the lights stay installed, not that they need to stay turned on.
You can leave them off whenever you want.
You might use them every evening during Christmas, then only use warm white a few nights a week during the rest of the year.
Everything can be controlled from the app.
Energy Efficiency Is One of the Benefits
Compared with older decorative lighting, LEDs provide a lot of light while using relatively little energy.
They also produce less heat than traditional bulbs.
For a system that can be used throughout the year, that makes LED technology a good fit for permanent outdoor lighting.
Final Thoughts
Permanent outdoor lights do use electricity, but they are designed around efficient LED technology.
The total cost depends mainly on the number of lights, brightness, and how long you leave them on.
Using lower brightness and automatic schedules is an easy way to keep power use under control.
At Northam Lights, we install permanent outdoor LED lighting for residential and commercial properties across British Columbia and Alberta.
If you are planning an installation and want to know how many lights your home may need, send us a few photos and we can help estimate the footage and recommend a suitable setup.