How much does it cost to run an outdoor security light?
EIA data · June 2026About $1.67 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.
9.1 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 10–400 W. Use the figure on your own label if you have it.
An outdoor security light sits mid-table at #54 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 an outdoor security light uses
LED floodlights for domestic use are 10–50 W. The high end of this range is a legacy halogen floodlight at 300–400 W, kept for comparison because many are still installed.
- Low
- 10 W
- Typical
- 30 W
- High
- 400 W
What it costs across the country
Same appliance, same usage, different electricity price. Annual cost at 30 W and the default usage above.
| State | ¢/kWh | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 52.72 | $57.73 |
| California | 34.74 | $38.04 |
| Massachusetts | 29.61 | $32.42 |
| New York | 29.49 | $32.29 |
| Ohio | 19.19 | $21.01 |
| Texas | 15.94 | $17.45 |
| Florida | 15.10 | $16.53 |
| Utah | 13.37 | $14.64 |
| Nebraska | 13.25 | $14.51 |
| Nevada | 13.11 | $14.36 |
Worth knowing
- Replacing one 400 W halogen floodlight with a 30 W LED saves more per year than most whole-house lighting changes.
- Motion sensing cuts the cost by an order of magnitude compared with dusk-to-dawn operation, and deters better.
- Dusk-to-dawn units run longest in winter, exactly when electricity is most expensive in many states.
Other appliances
- Light bulb
- LED strip lights
- 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.