How much does it cost to run a under-cabinet led lighting kit?
A typical under-cabinet led lighting kit draws about 24 watts. Used 4 hours a day, that works out to roughly $0.02 per day, $0.50 per month, and $5.96 per year on an average electricity rate of 17¢ per kWh. Under-cabinet LED strips are highly efficient task lighting that reduces overall kitchen electricity usage.
Under-Cabinet LED Lighting Kit running cost calculator
- Per day
- $0.02
- Per month
- $0.50
- Per year
- $5.96
- CO₂ / year
- 14 kg
Based on 35 kWh per year. Adjust the price per kWh to match your latest electricity bill for an exact figure.
The number that matters most is your own electricity rate. Rates range from under 11¢ per kWh in some regions to over 30¢ in others, so the same under-cabinet led lighting kit can cost two or three times as much depending on where you live. Enter your exact rate in the calculator above to get a figure tailored to your bill.
Lighting such as the under-cabinet led lighting kit is cheap per hour but runs for long stretches, so the annual total is driven almost entirely by how many hours it stays on. Switching to LED and adding timers or motion sensors are the highest-impact changes here.
At 24 watts, the under-cabinet led lighting kit is a low-power device, so its cost per hour is small. The annual total only becomes meaningful if it runs for many hours a day — which is exactly why long-running low-wattage devices are easy to overlook on a bill.
Over a full year this under-cabinet led lighting kit uses about 35 kWh of electricity and is responsible for roughly 14 kg of CO₂ emissions on an average grid. Because it runs more or less year-round, even a small reduction in daily use carries straight through to a lower annual total.
To put the draw in everyday terms, one hour of running this under-cabinet led lighting kit uses about as much electricity as charging a smartphone 2 times. It is a rough comparison, but it makes an abstract wattage figure easier to picture.
If this under-cabinet led lighting kit is one you use daily, even small efficiency gains compound. Cutting its usage or wattage by 20% would save around $1.19 every year — money that an efficient replacement can recover over its lifetime.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to run a under-cabinet led lighting kit per hour?
- At 24 watts and a 17¢/kWh rate, a under-cabinet led lighting kit costs about $0.00 per hour to run.
- How much electricity does a under-cabinet led lighting kit use per month?
- Running 4 hours a day, a under-cabinet led lighting kit uses roughly 2.9 kWh per month, costing about $0.50.
- How many kWh does a under-cabinet led lighting kit use per year?
- Used 4 hours a day for 365 days a year, a under-cabinet led lighting kit consumes about 35 kWh annually — that is the figure your electricity rate is multiplied by to get the $5.96 yearly cost.
- Is a under-cabinet led lighting kit expensive to run?
- Not particularly — at around $5.96 per year, a under-cabinet led lighting kit is a relatively minor part of most electricity bills.
- How much CO₂ does a under-cabinet led lighting kit produce?
- On an average grid, a under-cabinet led lighting kit used this much is responsible for roughly 14 kg of CO₂ per year. The exact figure depends on how clean your local electricity supply is.
- How can I reduce my under-cabinet led lighting kit running costs?
- Use it during off-peak hours if your utility offers time-of-use pricing, reduce daily run time, and consider an ENERGY STAR rated under-cabinet led lighting kit, which uses less power for the same job.