--- title: "What a Café's Lamps Cost in Electricity Each Month" description: "Work it out yourself: watts times hours times the business tariff. Example: the 90 W set at Thềm Chiều café, using EVN's tariff and the 2026 peak hours." canonical: https://denhachi.thenexova.cloud/en/journal/cafe-lighting-electricity-cost lang: en last-updated: 2026-10-04 --- [Cafés and stays](/en/journal/topic/cafes-and-stays) # Fifteen 6 W bulbs, twelve hours a day: the electricity bill > Work it out yourself: watts times hours times the business tariff. Example: the 90 W set at Thềm Chiều café, using EVN's tariff and the 2026 peak hours. Nguồn / Source: https://denhachi.thenexova.cloud/en/journal/cafe-lighting-electricity-cost Work it out yourself: watts times hours times the business tariff. Example: the 90 W set at Thềm Chiều café, using EVN's tariff and the 2026 peak hours. [Tô Minh Khang](/en/workshop/makers/to-minh-khang) · Wiring, installation and warranty · Published 21 Jul 2026 · Updated 4 Oct 2026 · 6 min read ![A café seen from a mezzanine, rattan pendants hung at different heights above guests sitting by a vine-covered window](/_astro/project-cafe.DiOGteOo_2hsWXm.jpg) Fifteen 6 W LED bulbs lit twelve hours a day use 32.4 kWh in a 30-day month, which costs roughly VND 102,000 to 176,000 before VAT, depending on which hours the lights are on. With a typical café schedule of 10:30 to 22:30, it comes to about VND 128,700 a month. The method has three steps: add up the bulbs’ watts, multiply by the hours they are on, then multiply by the business electricity tariff for each time band. The prices used here are from the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Decision 1279/QĐ-BCT of 9 May 2025; the time bands are from Decision 963/QĐ-BCT of 22 April 2026. I am Khang. I do the wiring and installation at the workshop. Café owners usually ask me this while I am up a ladder, so here it is written down once. ## Step 1: add up the watts At Thềm Chiều café in Nhiêu Lộc ward (old District 3), we fitted twelve 35 cm [Hạ Chí](/en/collection/ha-chi) (Summer Solstice) pendants over twelve tables and a three-lamp [Tiểu Mãn](/en/collection/tieu-man) (Grain Buds) set over the counter (an illustrative project for a demo site; figures are made up). Each lamp takes one E27 LED bulb, 2700K, 6 W. 15 bulbs × 6 W = 90 W, or 0.09 kW. The wattage is printed on the bulb or its box. For recessed downlights it is usually on the driver that sits above the ceiling. ## Step 2: multiply by the hours 0.09 kW × 12 hours = 1.08 kWh a day. 1.08 kWh × 30 days = 32.4 kWh a month. A kWh is the “unit” on your bill: a thousand watts running for one hour. ## Step 3: multiply by the tariff for each time band A café pays the business tariff. Since 10 May 2025, under Decision 1279/QĐ-BCT, business customers supplied below 6 kV (usually the case for a café in a shophouse) pay: | Band | VND per kWh, before VAT | Monday to Saturday | Sunday | | -------- | ----------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------- | | Off-peak | 1,918 | 0:00 to 6:00 | 0:00 to 6:00 | | Normal | 3,152 | 6:00 to 17:30 and 22:30 to 24:00 | 6:00 to 24:00 | | Peak | 5,422 | 17:30 to 22:30 | None | The hours are the new bands under Decision 963/QĐ-BCT, in force since 22 April 2026\. Peak time has moved to the evening, exactly when a café is busy and the lamps are on. A VietnamFinance article of 11 July 2026 still gives the average retail price as VND 2,204 per kWh, which means the 2025 tariff had not changed by then. ## Example: Thềm Chiều with the lamps on from 10:30 to 22:30 These hours are an assumption to show the arithmetic, not the café’s real opening hours. | Day | Normal hours | Peak hours | Cost per day | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------ | | Monday to Saturday | 7 h × 0.09 kW × 3,152 = VND 1,985.76 | 5 h × 0.09 kW × 5,422 = VND 2,439.90 | VND 4,425.66 | | Sunday | 12 h × 0.09 kW × 3,152 = VND 3,404.16 | None | VND 3,404.16 | For a 30-day month with 26 weekdays and 4 Sundays: 26 × 4,425.66 + 4 × 3,404.16 = 115,067.16 + 13,616.64 = VND 128,683.80, call it VND 128,700. That is about VND 8,600 per bulb per month, or roughly VND 1,544,000 a year for the whole set. Two bounds to check against: if all 32.4 kWh fell in normal hours, the bill would be VND 102,124.80; if all of it fell in peak hours, VND 175,672.80\. Your café sits somewhere between. All of these are before VAT. Your electricity bill adds VAT at the rate shown on the bill. Your café's electricity bill shows which price you are actually paying. If it has a single unit price rather than three time bands, use that price instead of the table above. Before you calculate, check the tariff page on the website of EVN or your regional power corporation to make sure the prices have not changed. ## Compared with the old downlights At Thềm Chiều we did not record the wattage of the old recessed lights, so there is no real comparison here. You can do your own in five minutes: count the fittings, read the watts on one driver, multiply. A made-up example, only to show the ratio: twenty downlights at 9 W each is 180 W, twice 90 W. For the same hours, the bill doubles too, to about VND 257,400 on the schedule above. ## What dimmable bulbs do A dimmable 2700K bulb costs VND 90,000 extra per bulb, and a wall rotary dimmer VND 350,000 per switch. For fifteen bulbs and two dimmers (one for the tables, one for the counter) that is VND 1,350,000 + 700,000 = VND 2,050,000 before VAT. A dimmed LED draws less power, but how much less depends on the bulb and the dimmer, and we will not promise a figure. To be straight with you: on a bill of around VND 128,700 a month, you do not fit dimmers to save money. You fit them so the room can drop down a notch at eight in the evening compared with noon. ## How we handle it When we plan a [café set](/en/collection/cafe-set), the light mock-up we send the owner always includes one line: the number of bulbs and the total watts. At Thềm Chiều it was 15 bulbs, 90 W. I wire the table lamps and the counter lamps on separate circuits, so on a quiet morning the café can run the counter lights alone. The café set includes a VND 2,800,000 fee for the floor-plan mock-up, the circuit layout and one overnight installation. Thềm Chiều’s whole order came to VND 38,320,000 before VAT; details are on the [Thềm Chiều project page](/en/projects/them-chieu-cafe-nhieu-loc). ## Where people go wrong - **Forgetting to multiply by the number of bulbs.** 6 W is one bulb, not the set. Tiểu Mãn has three bulbs, Xuân Phân four. - **Using the residential tariff.** Residential prices go up in tiers by monthly use. A business pays the business tariff by time band. - **Using the old time bands.** Before 22 April 2026, peak hours were 9:30 to 11:30 and 17:00 to 20:00\. The new bands put all of peak at 17:30 to 22:30. - **Ignoring Sundays.** Sunday has no peak band, so it costs less. - **Forgetting VAT.** The figures here are before tax. Our pillar guide on [lighting a small café](/en/journal/lighting-a-small-cafe) covers one lamp per table and how to lay them out. To find out how many bulbs your café needs, send a photo and floor plan through the [light mock-up page](/en/light-mock-up). Within 48 hours Hà sends back a drawing with the total watts, so you can work out the bill as above. ## Sources and update Business tariff below 6 kV (off-peak 1,918, normal 3,152, peak 5,422 VND per kWh) under Decision 1279/QĐ-BCT of 9 May 2025: [EVN](https://en.evn.com.vn/d/en-US/news/RETAIL%20ELECTRICITY%20TARIFF-60-28-252); effective 10 May 2025, prices before VAT: [Nghệ An public administration centre](https://hcc.nghean.gov.vn/tin-tong-hop/gia-ban-le-dien-cho-cac-khach-hang-san-xuat-kinh-doanh-hanh-chinh-su-nghiep-tu-10-5-2253.html). Time bands under Decision 963/QĐ-BCT of 22 April 2026: [Ministry of Industry and Trade](https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/quy-dinh-moi-ve-gio-cao-diem-thap-diem-cua-he-thong-dien-quoc-gia.html). Old bands under consolidated text 13/VBHN-BCT of 2023: [Báo Lào Cai, 10 May 2026](https://baolaocai.vn/dien-gio-cao-diem-dat-gap-gan-3-lan-chu-nhat-khong-ap-dung-post899299.html). Average price of VND 2,204 per kWh still in force on 11 July 2026: [VietnamFinance](https://vietnamfinance.vn/siet-lai-quy-trinh-tang-gia-dien-evn-khong-the-tu-dieu-chinh-tu-2-tro-len-d147425.html). We found no decision replacing this tariff as of the check date, but could not open EVN’s Vietnamese tariff page; we will redo the sums when prices change. Last checked 4 October 2026. ## See it in your room first Send a room photo, get a light mock-up in 48 hours. [Send a room photo](/en/light-mock-up) ## Sources checked 1. [Retail electricity tariff, Decision 1279/QD-BCT of 9 May 2025 (EVN)](https://en.evn.com.vn/d/en-US/news/RETAIL%20ELECTRICITY%20TARIFF-60-28-252) 2. [Retail electricity prices for production and business customers from 10 May (Nghệ An public administration centre, Vietnamese)](https://hcc.nghean.gov.vn/tin-tong-hop/gia-ban-le-dien-cho-cac-khach-hang-san-xuat-kinh-doanh-hanh-chinh-su-nghiep-tu-10-5-2253.html) 3. [New peak and off-peak hours for the national power system (Ministry of Industry and Trade, 23 April 2026, Vietnamese)](https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/quy-dinh-moi-ve-gio-cao-diem-thap-diem-cua-he-thong-dien-quoc-gia.html) 4. [Tighter rules on electricity price rises (VietnamFinance, 11 July 2026, Vietnamese)](https://vietnamfinance.vn/siet-lai-quy-trinh-tang-gia-dien-evn-khong-the-tu-dieu-chinh-tu-2-tro-len-d147425.html) 5. [Peak-hour electricity costs nearly three times more (Báo Lào Cai, 10 May 2026, Vietnamese)](https://baolaocai.vn/dien-gio-cao-diem-dat-gap-gan-3-lan-chu-nhat-khong-ap-dung-post899299.html) ## Lamps in this article [![A round, slightly flattened open-weave bamboo pendant with a diamond pattern, low sun glowing warm through the strips beneath a reed ceiling](/_astro/lamp-ha-chi.BOagvipy_25FkIz.jpg)Hạ Chí2,900,000 VNDRattan pendant · Living room, dining table for four](/en/collection/ha-chi)[![Three identical bell-shaped woven pendants on black cables, hung in a stepped diagonal row against a grey wall, their insides glowing warm orange](/_astro/lamp-tieu-man.DC18aYHY_Z1fVH5Q.jpg)Tiểu Mãn3,600,000 VNDSet of three seagrass pendants · Bar counter, long desk](/en/collection/tieu-man)[![A dense cluster of woven bamboo and rattan pendant shades seen from below, each with a glowing bulb](/_astro/lamp-cafe-cluster.7JpveUN1_1hVAxn.jpg)Café setfrom 18,000,000 VNDEight lamps or more, laid out on your plan · Cafés and restaurants under 80 m², homestays](/en/collection/cafe-set) ## Read next - [Cafés and staysLighting a café under 80 m²: one pool of light per tableWhy evenly lit cafés feel like offices, how to hang one lamp per table, 2700K or 3000K for a café, splitting the switches, and installing without closing for a day.](/en/journal/lighting-a-small-cafe) - [Cafés and staysChoosing lamps for a homestay in a cold, damp town like Đà LạtBedside lamps you can read by without glare when lying down, 4 W or 6 W bulbs, materials that tolerate damp, and how we crate and install from Saigon.](/en/journal/lighting-a-homestay-in-da-lat) - [Choosing lamps2700K or 3000K: choosing warm light for a bedroom2700K is the yellowish white of an old incandescent bulb, 3000K a warm white with less yellow. Which room suits which, what the box says, and why we use 2700K.](/en/journal/2700k-vs-3000k-bedroom)