How Much Electricity Does LED Strip Lights Use [Can I Leave Them On All Night]?

It’s easy to overlook seemingly unimportant things like turning off the light when you leave a room. Do you want to know how much power light-emitting diode (LED) strip lights consume and whether you can leave them on all night? Well, we’ve done some research on this subject to assist you.

LED strip lights use less electricity than conventional incandescent lights. The annual operating cost of a typical 15 feet (ft) strip is less than $11. So, you have nothing to fear if you leave your LED strips on all night.

They won’t significantly increase your electric bill, and it only produces minimal heat that is unlikely to set on fire. Plus, it helps your sleep due to the calming colors.

In this article, we will share how we got the electricity cost of LED strip lights. We will also tackle the primary issues leaving them on all night and some available on the market. With that said, let’s dive right into this post below!

What Are LED Strip Lights?

LED strip lights are a modern and adaptable type of lighting. Although there are many variations of these lights, you can usually expect them to:

• It consists of a wide array of individual LED emitters on a flexible, slender circuit board.
• Use low-voltage direct current (DC) power to operate.
• You have the freedom to create your project whatever you choose since you can cut the strip at intervals of a few inches.
• Flexible LED strip lighting allows for a 90-degree bend in the vertical direction.
• A wide range of single colors and color-changing options are available.
• You can fit and discreetly hide them in various confined areas because of their 1/16″ thickness.
• You can peel and stick lights to different surfaces because the strip’s back is equipped with sturdy adhesive tape.
• A variety of brightness options are available.
• You can customize strips with specific colors, lengths, color rendering index (CRI), widths, brightness, voltages, and more.

How Much Electricity Do LED Strip Lights Use?

Let’s use a few examples to demonstrate the actual costs of operating strip lights. The average price of power in the US is $0.1059 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

The amount of energy equal to 1,000 Watts (W) drawn for an hour is measured in kWh. So to convert W to kWh, you multiply by the number of hours and divide by 1,000.

Also, you’ll use 1.46 Watts per foot (W/ft) for a standard density connecting 15 ft of LED strip. Remember that some strips can be significantly higher in thickness.

Ensure your power supply can generate enough power to run the LED strips. Use the following calculation to calculate the LED strip’s overall power consumption and electricity cost:

Wattage

• LED power x LED strip length = Wattage
• (1.46 W/ft) x (15 ft) = 21.9 W

Power Consumption

• [LED Wattage x Operating Time] / 1,000 = Power Consumption
• [21.9 W x 12 h] / 1,000 = 0.2628 kWh

Electricity Cost

• Power Consumption x Electricity Price = Electricity Cost
• (0.2628 kWh) x ($0.1059/kWh) = $0.03

Some people don’t typically use the LED strip lights nonstop. They may just turn them on for a few hours. Electricity depends on your usage of your lights/technology. For LED strip lights, the length and density also matter.

Below is the chart to show you the electricity cost for different usage:

Daily Usage (Hours)	Electricity Cost of LED Strip Lights ($)
Daily (1 day)	Weekly (7 days)	Monthly (30 days)	Yearly (365 days)
1h per day	$0.002	$0.01	$0.06	$0.73
4h per day	$0.009	$0.06	$0.27	$3.29
8h per day	$0.019	$0.13	$0.57	$6.94
12h per day	$0.028	$0.20	$0.84	$10.22

That implies that even if you run a standard density LED strip over 15 ft and leave it on for the whole night, you won’t spend much money on it—barely more than a cent.

What Are Some Reasons Not To Leave LED Lights On All Night?

You are unsure if you can leave your LED strip lights on all night, but you are considering doing so. You might be troubled by any of the following issues:

Start A Fire

A home or office can have many risks, and fire is one of these dangers. Fires are devastating anytime; they pose a greater risk when asleep at night. When we sleep, we all lose our sense of smell, making detecting fire more difficult.

This is the primary justification for installing smoke alarms in your homes. Therefore, it is understandable why anyone could be concerned about the potential for a fire if LED strip lights are left on all night.

An older light bulb can grow very hot, as you may have experienced if you’ve ever touched one or placed your hand over it.

However, LEDs are a lot more effective at turning energy into light. To produce light, they employed a semiconductor substance. Because of their efficiency, less heat is produced during the production of light, which reduces the possibility of setting a fire.

Therefore, leaving LED strip lights on all night is much safer than typical light fixtures.

Cost A Lot

All of us have a ton of bills to pay. Therefore, figuring out ways to lower the amount of money you must spend toward these expenditures can enable you to use that money for something better.

One of the bills where you can actively choose to spend less money each day is electricity. There are several ways to cut costs, including turning off the lights when no one is in the room and taking shorter hot showers.

For example, you want to keep a light on throughout the night to give a trail in case you need to use the restroom. In this case, choosing LED strip lights is much better and will save you money over time compared to using older light bulbs.

LEDs consume 85% less energy than regular light bulbs do! You can leave those LED strip lights on all night long thanks to this, which will significantly impact your electricity bill.

Affect Your Sleep

Darkness can be creepy to some of us! Because of this, some of us prefer to sleep with the lights on.

However, studies have revealed that sleeping with the lights on can make it more difficult to fall asleep since your brain will not produce enough melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep.

But do not worry because there is a solution to this issue. If you must have light when you sleep, choose red light. It can aid in your ability to sleep, according to research.

Therefore, use red if you’re using LED strip lights in your room to help you sleep.

Do LED Strip Lights Last Longer?

Light bulbs only have a certain number of hours of light, but anything can survive for a while if you take care of it. Holiday incandescent lights are much less durable than LED lights. The way LED lights are constructed in large part accounts for their endurance.

Due to the heated filament in the bulb that an electric current flows through, incandescent Christmas lights burn like an ember.

The light will burn brighter, and the filament will eventually burn out as more electric current passes through it. This disrupts or restores the electrical circuit.

As a result, burning out your incandescent lights is not difficult.

On the other hand, LED lights to use a complex diode and semiconductor to generate a current that transports electrons from the negative to the positive side.

They are known as light-emitting diodes because of the light that is produced as a result of the reaction.

Talk about long-lasting, the US Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that a single string of LED lights might still be in operation after 40 years.

What Are Some LED Light Strips You Can Use All Night?

You must get high-quality LED light strips to maintain them regularly shining all night brightly. Keep in mind that for LED lights to operate well, other parts are required.

How long your lights run depends on the quality of these parts, including the driver.

Additionally, defective components are the leading cause of issues with LED lights. Most likely, these will malfunction before the diode ever burns out.

Since you’re buying LED lights to replace heat-generating incandescent lights, you don’t want cheap LED lights that even run the risk of overheating from inadequate driver power management.

This makes finding high-quality LED strips essential. Let’s discuss a few options below:

Philips Hue Light Strip

It creates an immersive environment behind entertainment systems, behind bars, or cabinets with a Light Strip Plus connected to this lighting system.

You can bend, trim, and extend the Light Strip Plus to suit your application’s needs.

Click here to see this Philips light strip on Amazon.

Govee Smart LED Strip Lights

It is an additional intelligent system made to function with a smart hub. Alexa and Google Assistant both function with this LED strip lighting.

With only a few voice commands, you can turn your lights on and off, change the color, or alter the brightness without using your hands.

Click here to see this Govee Smart LED on Amazon.

Lepro LED Strip Light

It is a more conventional LED strip that makes a beautiful accent to any house. There is no need for you to spend additional time or money on any accessories because it is all in one kit.

See this Lepro LED strip light on Amazon.

To Wrap Up

Leaving LED strip lights on all night is not a problem. However, your overall cost will still increase if you leave them on all night instead of for a few hours.

Are you already finished? Check out these other posts!

How To Install LED Strip Lights?