Power Usage at Christmas
With people at home, cooking and hosting, does power usage increase on Christmas Day? You may be surprised at the data…
Lower Power at Christmas
While electricity powers many of our Christmas traditions, including lighting up the Christmas tree and cooking our Christmas dinner, you may be surprised to know that electricity usage on Christmas Day is typically lower than the average power consumption observed throughout the rest of the year.
This is most likely due to very few businesses and industrial premises working, with schools, retail shops and factories being closed on the major public holiday.
These large-scale facilities and businesses are responsible for consuming large amounts of power daily, meaning when their collective demand drops out of the national grid’s equation, the energy saved far outweighs the increased domestic consumption from household lights, heating, and cooking.
The power grid effectively shifts from powering industry to powering homes, resulting in a net decrease in demand.
Power Usage
To cook the nation’s turkeys, the UK uses over 63GWh of energy, which is the equivalent of powering 23,500 homes annually.1
However, this isn’t the most power-intensive activity – surprisingly, the most intensive electricity usage is charging electric vehicles, in order to pick up family or travel to relatives’ houses. Additionally, with the rise of LED lights and decorations, these use even less energy than that of streaming or watching the King’s speech.
Renewable Power Sources
Although we may be using energy to power our homes (and appetites) this Christmas, the positive is that a large amount of energy is now sourced from renewable sources. Over the last two years, renewable energy has made up half of the electricity mix on Christmas Day.2
Additionally, in 2025, renewable energy sources have overtaken coal as the world’s largest source of electricity generation for the first time, marking a positive turning point in the global energy transition. This is crucial for both global energy security and public health.
Saving Energy at Christmas
Despite the facts telling us that energy usage is lower on Christmas Day, you should still try to conserve energy – every little saving helps reduce resource consumption. For example, did you know that the way we cook Christmas dinner can help us to save energy? Keeping the lids on your pots and pans whilst cooking uses 10% less energy than if they were removed.
How else can you reduce consumption?
- Use smart plugs or timers for Christmas decorations to switch them off when out of the house or asleep
- Switch to LED lights
- Use solar-powered outdoor lights, rather than the traditional plug socket variety
- Reduce your thermostat
- Choose potted trees that can be replanted, or opt for artificial trees that are made from recycled materials
- Switch electrical items off standby when not in use – this could save a collective £14 million and over 50GWh of power annually
Additionally, many energy suppliers are offering free or discounted energy bills on Christmas Day. EDF Energy is offering eight hours of free electricity between 8am-4pm. This is even more reason to use an energy provider that uses renewable energy sources.
A Greener Christmas?
Although energy consumption is lower on this single day of the year, it should inspire us to be more mindful, not to overindulge by excessively increasing the heating and running all electrical items simultaneously. In fact, it suggests the opposite: we can reduce energy consumption with awareness. This provides insight into how to save energy throughout the entire year, not just during the Christmas period.
