Keep the Change 'Ya Filthy Animal...
New data has predicted that Kevin McCallister would have racked up a $70.83 energy bill in his three days Home Alone, if the film was set in 2023. If he was Home Alone for the whole month, the bill would have been just over $700. Although it was released 32 years ago, in many ways, Home Alone is a timeless classic. However, if you’ve started your Christmas movie marathon already this year, you may be shocked by the HUGE amount of electricity that young Kevin McCallister uses in his time Home Alone.
In light of the cost-of-living crisis, researchers at interiors brand, Bobbi Beck, have analyzed the film to estimate how much money Kevin’s escapades would cost his parents if the film was set in the modern day.
The Bill
Researchers calculated that Kevin McCallister would have used at least 472.22kwh of energy in his three days left Home Alone. Based on the average residential electricity rate in his hometown of Chicago (Source: Energy Sage), Bobbi Beck predicts that Kevin's energy bill would be $70.83.
It is estimated that Kevin would have spent almost FIVE TIMES more than the average in his local area of Chicago, where the typical daily energy bill is $5.20 (Source: Energy Sage).
Kevin uses a lot of electricity in his various schemes, from heating up the doorknob with an electric barbeque lighter to using a record player and toy train track to mimic a party. However, the most significant energy usage comes from the lights, both indoors and outside. During the infamous booby trap scene, we can see that every single light is on, but Kevin does turn them off when he leaves for church.
To calculate Kevin’s energy bill, Bobbi Beck investigated three areas of electricity usage: outdoor lights, indoor lights and TV use.
Outdoor Lights The data estimates that Kevin would have used $8.10 on outdoor lighting alone if the film was set in 2023. With each side of the house stretching around 20 meters, around 10 sets of lights would be required, guzzling an estimated 54kwh for the three days (Source: Simply LED).
Indoor Lights
Kevin spent an estimated $62.70 on indoor lighting. Researchers calculated that his home is 2.49 times bigger than an average U.S. house, meaning that they would have an estimated 99.60 lights inside (Source: Visual Capitalist). The lights are likely to be an older, less energy-efficient model, most likely 100W in the estimation of Bobbi Beck’s researchers. They use 0.1kw an hour (Source: Ideal Home) and, because an average eight-year-old boy sleeps for around 10 hours (Source: Sleep Foundation), the lights would be on for roughly 42 hours. Therefore, Kevin would use 418kwh on indoor lights.
TV Use
Although it’s only a minor cost, researchers also uncovered that Kevin would have spent just 4¢ on TV use. One of the most memorable Home Alone scenes sees Kevin watching a gangster film. He has a TV that is typically less energy efficient than a plasma and uses about 100 Watts of electricity (Source: Scientific American). An average film lasts 2 hours and 10 minutes (Source: Statista), so the gangster film alone would use up 0.217kwh. James Mellan-Matulewicz, CEO of UK decor brand Bobbi Beck commented:
“Most of us are currently feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, with energy costs and food prices continuing to remain high. Not only does this impact our day-to-day finances, but it can also change our perspective on things--and Christmas movies are no exception…
“Home Alone is arguably the best Christmas movie of all time, particularly well known for its spectacular festive interiors. But when watching the film back, the amount of electricity that Kevin uses is really shocking. That’s why we wanted to crunch the numbers to find out just how much money he would have cost his parents in his three days of chaos.”
Editor's Note: These calculations were released by UK decor brand Bobbi Beck, which provides a number of wallpaper designs to suit a range of tastes and personalities.