What lighting costs to run in Virginia
Virginia homes use 761 kWh a year on lighting. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $57.07 to $187.48 a year across 12 published Virginia plans — a $130.41 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
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Every priced plan, average
| Plan | Per year | vs cheapest | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOU Residential Service Schedule 1P✓ cheapesttime-of-use · demand charge | $57.07 | — | 9.0¢ |
| Dual Fuel Service Residential Schedule 1DFtime-of-use | $58.22 | +$1.15 | 8.1¢ |
| Basic Residential Rate Schedule 1time-of-use | $79.64 | +$22.57 | 12.0¢ |
| Energy TOU Residential Service Schedule 1Ttime-of-use | $85.31 | +$28.24 | 12.7¢ |
| 1W Residential Service (Time Controlled Storage Water Heating)flat rate · needs electric heating | $89.64 | +$32.57 | 12.2¢ |
| 1S Residential Service (Demand Time-of-Use)time-of-use · demand charge | $98.44 | +$41.37 | 14.1¢ |
| Residential Energy TOU Schedule 1Ttime-of-use | $114.09 | +$57.02 | 16.2¢ |
| Residential Schedule 1time-of-use · tiered | $116.96 | +$59.89 | 16.7¢ |
| 1EV Residential Service with Electric Vehicle Charging (Experimental)time-of-use · experimental | $117.00 | +$59.93 | 16.1¢ |
| Residential Schedule 1G (Experimental Service)time-of-use · experimental | $119.06 | +$61.99 | 16.4¢ |
| EV Residential Electric Vehicle Charging (Experimental)time-of-use · experimental | $141.24 | +$84.17 | 18.9¢ |
| Residential Off-Peak Plantime-of-use | $187.48 | +$130.41 | 25.3¢ |
Cost across usage levels
The cheapest plan at each consumption level, showing whether the ranking holds as usage changes.
- Lighter use — cheapest $15.56 (TOU Residential Service Schedule 1P), dearest $51.22, a $35.66 spread
- Average — cheapest $57.07 (TOU Residential Service Schedule 1P), dearest $187.48, a $130.41 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $64.80 (TOU Residential Service Schedule 1P), dearest $212.81, a $148.01 spread
What lighting costs here
Across 12 plans priced in Virginia, lighting adds $57.07 to $187.48 a year — $4.76 to $15.62 a month. The median plan puts lighting at $91.87 a year.
Cheapest for lighting: TOU Residential Service Schedule 1P, Virginia Electric & Power Co (North Carolina). Dearest: Residential Off-Peak Plan, Virginia Electric & Power Co.
Those 761 kWh are billed at 7.5¢–24.6¢, against a 13.4¢ whole-bill average on the median plan: they land in the last tier the household reaches, so the average rate understates them by up to 11.2¢ per kWh.
What Virginia homes use
EIA's 2020 residential survey found 761 kWh a year across 451 sampled homes that run one, 1.16× the national 654 kWh. The middle half spans 208 kWh to 864 kWh, so lighting varies by 656 kWh between one household and another.
Every light fixture and lamp in and immediately outside the home. That average covers all homes — 100% of homes here.
That makes lighting about 6% of the electricity a Virginia home uses. The remaining 12,177 kWh is what lighting is billed on top of, and on a tiered or time-of-use plan that is what sets the rate it meets.
By provider
On each Virginia provider's cheapest plan: Virginia Electric & Power Co (North Carolina), $57.07; Virginia Electric & Power Co, $98.44.
Virginia Electric & Power Co charges $41.37 a year more than Virginia Electric & Power Co (North Carolina) on TOU Residential Service Schedule 1P for the same 761 kWh.
Light and heavy use of lighting
A household in the lighter quarter runs lighting for 208 kWh a year and pays $15.56 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 864 kWh and pays $64.80 — $49.24 more for lighting on the same tariff.
Limits
A 2020 survey average for Virginia, not a measurement of any one home, priced against the 12 Virginia tariffs WattClear has ingested — not every plan sold there.
New to these terms? The methodology page explains tiered bands, time-of-use periods and fixed charges, and sets out exactly what the rate engine assumes.
Estimate — your actual bill may differ.
Tariff structures from NREL/OpenEI Utility Rate Database (CC0 1.0), retrieved September 2, 2026.
Location resolved through the US Census Bureau Geocoder (Public domain) at 37.5407, -77.4360.