Families looking to transform their homes with festive lights this year have been warned they could be hit by whopping bills running into hundreds of pounds for additional energy use.

Debt advice company, UK Debt Expert has calculated that Brits who love to deck the outside of their houses out with silhouettes of Santa, Rudolph and friends using rope lights will rack up the biggest bills.

Having five of these on for six hours a day could cost £478 if put up on December 1 and taken down on January 5, 2024. This is before you take into account the energy running costs of the likes of fairy lights on your Christmas tree.

UK Debt Expert has created a Christmas Lights Calculator to help festive fanatics understand how much their displays could cost, and how much they could potentially save by delaying the decoration date or switching to different types of light.

For example, waiting one week until December 8 to turn on your outdoor lights could save you up to £90 alone if you have five rope lights outside your house.

The most expensive light to run is a Santa rope light archway, costing £4.90 to run for six hours a day, which equates to more than £171 for the month.

But the good news is an average set of indoor mains-powered fairy lights would cost just 12p to run for six hours a day and a LED inflatable, such as an inflatable Santa, would cost £2.96 to run for the same period.

UK Debt Expert gathered information on the energy usage of popular Christmas lights to learn how much they would cost to run this year.

Maxine McCreadie, personal debt expert at UK Debt Expert, said:

“Before we deck the halls and untangle the fairy lights, it’s worth knowing how much it will cost to run your Christmas lights – whether at home or outside.

“Ahead of the energy Price Cap rise of 5% in January 2024, rising costs will only add to the pressure that many families will feel during the Christmas season, on top of presents, socialising and food.

“It’s important not to bury your head in the sand, and actually be aware of how much you’re spending on extra energy consumption, as many of us may end up mindlessly flicking on the switch, not realising how much extra we’ll end up adding to our energy bills or usage.

“That’s why we’ve decided to crunch the numbers and create a handy calculator for people to easily use and input their specific lights, along with the number of days and hours they’ll likely be up for.

“If people don’t wait to cut back on the number of lights they put up this year, they could compromise on cost by waiting a week or two until they plug them in, and still enjoy the magic of Christmas on a budget.”

To view the full list of 16 different lights, how much they cost and how much could be saved by waiting to turn them on, visit the blog online.