Do Night Lights Use a Lot of Electricity? – Lighting Adviser (2024)

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Night lights are great for providing comfort or some dim lighting for when you need to get out of bed in the dark. But you might be worried that leaving them on throughout the night will use a lot of electricity and run up the bills.

Night lights are energy efficient and don’t use a lot of electricity. LED night lights are about 0.5w which is about a 10th of the electricity used by a standard LED bulb. Based on the average electricity rate in the US, each LED night light will cost around $0.17 per year to run.

In the rest of this guide, we’ll take a look at how night lights compare to regular lights in their electricity usage, then we’ll take a look at what to look for in an energy efficient night light and offer some recommendations.

Contents

  • How Much Electricity Do Night Lights Use?
  • How Night Lights Compare to Other Lights
  • Energy Efficient Night Lights
    • 1. AUVON LED Motion Sensor Night Light
    • 2. GE Soft LED Dusk to Dawn Night Light
  • Final Thoughts
Do Night Lights Use a Lot of Electricity? – Lighting Adviser (1)

How Much Electricity Do Night Lights Use?

The amount of electricity used by a night light or any other type of light is determined by the wattage of the bulb.

Night lights use much less electricity than other lights. Incandescent night lights are usually between 4 – 7 watts and LED bulbs are usually under 1 watt.

In the US, the average electricity rate is 13.19 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). This means, if switched on 12 hours per day:

  • A 4w incandescent night light will cost around $2.31 per year.
  • A 0.3w LED night light will cost around $0.17 per year.

How Night Lights Compare to Other Lights

The table below compares the energy usage and cost of running a night light compared to a standard bulb.

The average cost per year is based on the lights running 12 hours per day on an electricity rate of 13.19 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).

Type of LightApprox. WattageAvg. Cost per Year
LED night light0.3w$0.17
Incandescent night light4w$2.31
Standard LED bulb8w$4.62
Standard incandescent bulb60w$34.68

As you can see, night lights are very inexpensive to run and LED bulbs of any kind are far more efficient compared with older incandescent bulbs.

Energy Efficient Night Lights

As we just saw, even incandescent night lights don’t use much electricity. But if you’re looking to save as much money as possible there are a couple of things to look for:

  • LED: As we’ve seen, LED night lights are by far the most efficient and inexpensive to run.
  • Sensors: Some night lights have motion and daylight sensors. These automatically turn the light on when it’s dark and detects motion. The light will then turn off again after a period of no motion (usually around a minutre) or when it senses daylight.

One thing to note about the motion sensors is they can be unreliable. If you purchase an LED night light you’re only looking at cents every year to run it so it’s not worth the hassle if you don’t get along with the sensor. The good news is, these sensors are often optional so just make sure you choose one which allows you to turn the sensor off.

1. AUVON LED Motion Sensor Night Light

If you like the idea of a motion sensor, the AUVON night lights (link to Amazon) are worth checking out. They’re lightweight and have a slim profile so won’t stick out too much and are just 0.3w. These night lights come in a pack of four.

AUVON LED Motion Sensor Night Light

Do Night Lights Use a Lot of Electricity? – Lighting Adviser (2)

Daylight sensor: Yes | Motion sensor: Yes | Pack size: 4 | Warranty: Up to 24-months

Check price on Amazon

There are two brightness modes and three settings: on, off, and auto. The auto setting is a motion and daylight sensor that turns off after 60 seconds of no motion detected. Unfortunately, the daylight and motion sensors are tied to the same setting so if you don’t get along with the motion sensor you’ll have to manually turn it on and off.

2. GE Soft LED Dusk to Dawn Night Light

If you want to keep things simple, these GE Soft LED night lights (link to Amazon) are great. They have a daylight sensor so you don’t need to worry about turning it on and off, but without a motion sensor which can be unreliable. Obviously this means they will be on all night and use more electricity, but at around half a watt per light, this won’t be a lot.

GE Soft LED Night Light

Do Night Lights Use a Lot of Electricity? – Lighting Adviser (3)

Daylight sensor: Yes | Motion sensor: No | Pack size: 2, 4, or 8 | Warranty: 90-day limited

Check price on Amazon

These night lights are lightweight and compact so won’t get in the way too much and available in packs of two, four, and eight. Unlike the AUVON night lights, these only have one settings and it’s fairly dim so keep that in mind.

Final Thoughts

To wrap it up, night lights (specifically those which are LED) don’t use a lot of energy so you don’t need to worry about racking up a huge bill.

In fact they use around a 10th of the power compared to a regular LED bulb. Each LED night light will cost only around $0.17 per year to run if left on 12 hours per day.

To maximize efficiency even further, you can buy night lights with motion and daylight sensors which only turn on when it’s dark and they detect motion.

Do Night Lights Use a Lot of Electricity? – Lighting Adviser (2024)

FAQs

Does night light use much electricity? ›

However, night lights (even incandescent options) use very little energy. A typical incandescent night light might use anywhere between 2 and 7 watts of power. LEDs and electroluminescent night lights often use less than a single watt.

Do electric lights use a lot of electricity? ›

How much electricity does a light bulb use? Generally, light bulbs use between 2 and 100 watts (W) of electricity, depending on the size and type. Traditional incandescent bulbs use 25 to 100 W, and LED bulbs use 2 to 18 W. Light bulbs draw around 110 volts and usually less than 1 amp.

Does leaving lights on overnight use a lot of electricity? ›

As we mentioned, leaving the lights on drives your energy consumption up as your home uses more electricity. But how much electricity you use depends on factors, such as how many lights you keep on, their wattage, and whether you use efficient bulbs.

Do security lights use a lot of electricity? ›

In fact, they can use around 30 times less electricity than a standard fluorescent light! In addition, your security lighting doesn't need to be on all the time. By using sensors that detect movement, they can turn themselves on and off as necessary. This means that they wont use electricity unnecessarily.

Are nightlights draining my electric? ›

Normal Night light Uses Most Electricity

That may not seem like much, but if you have multiple incandescent night lights running all year long, it can add up and you're likely going to notice a difference in your electric bill.

Is it safe to leave night lights on all the time? ›

LED lights may be left on all night without causing any safety risks, but doing so has certain advantages as well. For example, LED lights are perfect for use as nightlights since they emit a soft, calming glow that may help you safely explore your house at night.

What runs your electric bill up the most? ›

Which home appliances use the most electricity?
  1. Heating and cooling: 45-50% The largest electricity consumer in the average household is your heating and cooling appliance. ...
  2. Water heater: 12% ...
  3. Lighting: 9-12% ...
  4. Refrigerator: 8% ...
  5. Washer and dryer: 5% ...
  6. Electric oven: 3% ...
  7. Dishwasher: 2% ...
  8. TV and cable box: 2%
Dec 20, 2022

What uses the most electricity in a house? ›

What Can I Unplug? These Household Items Cost the Most Electricity
  • Cooling and heating: 47% of energy use.
  • Water heater: 14% of energy use.
  • Washer and dryer: 13% of energy use.
  • Lighting: 12% of energy use.
  • Refrigerator: 4% of energy use.
  • Electric oven: 3-4% of energy use.
  • TV, DVD, cable box: 3% of energy use.
Sep 1, 2022

Do LED strip lights make your electric bill high? ›

Energy Savings: Since LEDs use much less electricity while still being able to produce the light you need, these lights also save you money in the long run. Compared to conventional incandescent lighting or fluorescent lighting, they will use a lot less electricity.

How much does it cost to run a TV all day? ›

To find how much electricity your TV uses, multiply yearly electricity use by average electricity rate in your area. Using a TV 21 hours a week will use about 54.75 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. It costs an average of $1.30 to run a TV for a month and $15.54 to run for a year.

Does turning off lights really save money? ›

Turning off the lights does save money. Yep. As much as we might hate to admit it, dad's advice checks out. Not only does turning off lights when not in use lower your electrical bill, but doing so also allows your bulbs to last longer which means you'll buy new bulbs less frequently.

Do TVs use a lot of electricity? ›

The average TV uses around 620,000 watt-hours annually. This average is a helpful jumping-off point to understand how TV wattage compares to other appliances. Let's compare! Based on these averages, TVs fall somewhere in the middle in terms of household appliance energy consumption.

Do motion lights raise the electric bill? ›

Motion-activated lights are a great way to save electricity in low-traffic rooms, when lights are forgotten and when families need a helping hand.

Do sensor night lights use a lot of electricity? ›

This makes motion sensor lights much more energy efficient than traditional lighting fixtures, saving you money each month on your electric bills. Security: Motion sensor lights can be used to increase security around your property by deterring intruders who may otherwise try to remain undetected in darkness.

What lights don't use much electricity? ›

LEDs use up to 90% less energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.

How much does it cost to keep a night light on? ›

It depends on the wattage of the night light but a common night light would likely only be 1 or 2 watts. If your electricity costs 10 cents per kWh, a 2 watts night light on for 10 hours each night would cost 1 fifth cent per night or a penny for every 5 nights.

Is a night light cheaper to run than a lamp? ›

Even if the room light were an energy saving CFL or LED, it would still burn 10-20 watts. Night lights are usually 1 -2- or 3 watts. So compared to a night light, you would be using a lot less electricity to leave the night light on rather THAN leaving the room light on.

Does night light mode save power? ›

It gave a surprising battery life figure. Changing from light to dark mode reduces the phone's power consumption by 42% at 100% screen brightness. When the brightness level is 50%, switching from light mode to dark mode saves 9 % of the battery, and when the brightness level is 30%, the saving is only 3 %.

Should I use night light all the time? ›

Night light improves not only our eyesight but also our sleep; by reducing blue light exposure, this function promotes a healthy sleep pattern. Night Light modes, which filter out blue light and display warmer hues, might help lessen this impact, particularly throughout the evening.

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