Here’s How Much It Would Cost To Power Clark Griswold’s 25,000 Christmas Light Display In Each State

“Is your house on fire, Clark?” “No, Aunt Bethany, those are Christmas lights.”

One of the most memorable scenes in one of the most iconic Christmas movies ever made was when model father and Christmas connoisseur Clark Griswold blacked out the entire neighborhood with his 25,000 incandescent bulb light display in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

As a Food Preserver by trade, Griswold may have been stretching his wallet thin with this festive display, citing data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Using this data, the folks at Estately calculated the cost of both incandescent and LED holiday lights.

Here’s the formula used:
25,000 bulbs * 0.08 watts/bulb = 2,000 watts.
2,000 watts * (1 kilowatt / 1,000 watt) = 2 kilowatts
2 kilowatts * 5 hours per day = 10 kwh per day
10kwh * 31 days = 310 kwh
310kwh * each state’s average price per kwh

Estately


If lighting up your house for the Christmas season is your main priority, move to Louisiana or Washington state where it’s cheapest. Steer clear of Hawaii and Alaska.

Here’s how much it would cost state-by-state, via Estately:

ALABAMA: LED- $32 / Incandescent- $3,328

ALASKA: LED- $65 / Incandescent- $5,656

ARIZONA: LED- $40 / Incandescent- $3,464

ARKANSAS: LED- $32 / Incandescent- $2,829

CALIFORNIA: LED- $56 / Incandescent- $4,942

COLORADO: LED- $40 / Incandescent- $3,467

CONNECTICUT: LED- $59 / Incandescent- $5,146

DELAWARE: LED- $41 / Incandescent- $3,551

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: LED- $38 / Incandescent- $3,326

FLORIDA: LED- $35 / Incandescent- $3,090

GEORGIA: LED- $37 / Incandescent- $3,236

HAWAII: LED- $86 / Incandescent- $7,552

IDAHO: LED- $32 / Incandescent- $2,791

ILLINOIS: LED- $38 / Incandescent- $3,309

INDIANA: LED- $37 / Incandescent- $3,198

IOWA: LED- $39 / Incandescent- $3,450

KANSAS: LED- $40 / Incandescent- $3,505

KENTUCKY: LED- $32 / Incandescent- $2,840

LOUISIANA: LED- $30 / Incandescent- $2,582

MAINE: LED- $50 / Incandescent- $4,416

MARYLAND: LED- $44 / Incandescent- $3,808

MASSACHUSETTS:LED- $60 / Incandescent- $5,281

MICHIGAN: LED- $49 / Incandescent- $4,278

MINNESOTA: LED- $43 / Incandescent- $3,765

MISSISSIPPI: LED- $32 / Incandescent- $2,764

MISSOURI: LED- $35 / Incandescent- $3,054

MONTANA: LED- $36 / Incandescent- $3,152

NEBRASKA: LED- $38 / Incandescent- $3,347

NEVADA: LED- $35 / Incandescent- $3,033

NEW HAMPSHIRE: LED- $57 / Incandescent- $4,977

NEW JERSEY: LED- $50 / Incandescent- $4,383

NEW MEXICO: LED- $40 / Incandescent- $3,499

NEW YORK: LED- $57 / Incandescent- $4,986

NORTH CAROLINA: LED- $35 / Incandescent- $3,103

NORTH DAKOTA: LED- $37 / Incandescent- $3,222

OHIO: LED- $37 / Incandescent- $3,228

OKLAHOMA: LED- $34 / Incandescent- $3,014

OREGON: LED- $34 / Incandescent- $2,959

PENNSYLVANIA: LED- $44 / Incandescent- $3,844

RHODE ISLAND: LED- $64 / Incandescent- $5,558

SOUTH CAROLINA: LED- $39 / Incandescent- $3,456

SOUTH DAKOTA: LED- $39 / Incandescent- $3,388

TENNESSEE: LED- $33 / Incandescent- $2,864

TEXAS: LED- $35 / Incandescent- $3,019

UTAH: LED- $35 / Incandescent- $3,060

VERMONT: LED- $54 / Incandescent- $4,755

VIRGINIA: LED- $36 / Incandescent- $3,179

WASHINGTON: LED- $30 / Incandescent- $2,615

WEST VIRGINIA: LED- $36 / Incandescent- $3,144

WISCONSIN: LED- $46 / Incandescent- $4,006

WYOMING: LED- $37 / Incandescent- $3,201

Merry Christmas, ya’ll.

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Matt Keohan Avatar
Matt’s love of writing was born during a sixth grade assembly when it was announced that his essay titled “Why Drugs Are Bad” had taken first prize in D.A.R.E.’s grade-wide contest. The anti-drug people gave him a $50 savings bond for his brave contribution to crime-fighting, and upon the bond’s maturity 10 years later, he used it to buy his very first bag of marijuana.