How much does it cost to run LED strip lights?
EIA data · June 2026About 66.9¢ a month at the U.S. average price of 18.34¢ per kilowatt-hour — but that figure moves a long way depending on where you live. Set your state below.
3.7 kWh a month at the U.S. average, 18.34¢/kWh for June 2026. Excludes fixed charges, taxes and time-of-use rates, which vary by utility and are on your bill.
Typical 5–100 W. Use the figure on your own label if you have it.
A set of LED strip lights sits mid-table at #75 of 88, which means something else in the house costs more. See whether lighting or something else drives your bill.
Every figure here is priced per kilowatt-hour. What a kilowatt-hour actually is.
How many watts a set of LED strip lights uses
LED strip is rated per metre: roughly 4–5 W/m for standard density and 12–15 W/m for high density. A typical 5-metre domestic reel is therefore about 24 W; a long high-density run reaches 100 W.
- Low
- 5 W
- Typical
- 24 W
- High
- 100 W
What it costs across the country
Same appliance, same usage, different electricity price. Annual cost at 24 W and the default usage above.
| State | ¢/kWh | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 52.72 | $23.09 |
| California | 34.74 | $15.22 |
| Massachusetts | 29.61 | $12.97 |
| New York | 29.49 | $12.92 |
| Ohio | 19.19 | $8.41 |
| Texas | 15.94 | $6.98 |
| Florida | 15.10 | $6.61 |
| Utah | 13.37 | $5.86 |
| Nebraska | 13.25 | $5.80 |
| Nevada | 13.11 | $5.74 |
Worth knowing
- Cost scales with length, not with the number of colours — running them at full white uses more than a dim single colour, because all three channels are lit.
- The bundled power supply is rated for the maximum length it can drive, not for what your strip actually draws.
- Cheap strips fed from an undersized supply run dim at the far end, which wastes nothing but disappoints.
Other appliances
- Light bulb
- Outdoor security light
- Christmas lights
- Grow light
- Space heater
- Central air conditioner
- Window air conditioner
- Electric water heater
Prices are statewide residential averages for June 2026 from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. They exclude fixed monthly charges, taxes and time-of-use rates. See how these figures are calculated.