For a 20-table restaurant open most evenings, tea lights cost roughly €1,080–€2,880 a year, every year. A set of rechargeable Tavellio lamps is a one-off outlay of around €1,300 that lasts for years, so it typically pays for itself within the first year or two, with no open flame and no recurring cost.
Candles or Rechargeable Table Lamps? What Ambient Lighting Really Costs Your Venue Per Year
Candles feel cheap, until you add up a year of them. Here's the real cost of ambient lighting for a restaurant, and when rechargeable lamps pay for themselves.
A tea light costs almost nothing. That's exactly why the real bill is easy to miss. Buy them week after week, table after table, and "almost nothing" quietly becomes one of your steady yearly expenses, with an open flame on every table as a bonus worry.
Let's do the sum honestly, with a simple example venue.
The yearly cost of candles
Take a restaurant with 20 tables, open around 360 evenings a year, with one candle burning per table each evening. That's roughly 7,200 candles a year. Depending on whether you use simple tea lights or better dinner candles, here's how it adds up.
| Example: 20 tables | Tea lights | Rechargeable lamps |
| Up-front cost | €0 | ~€1,300 (one-off) |
| Cost per year | €1,080 – €2,880 | €0 |
| Total after 3 years | €3,240 – €8,640 | ~€1,300 |
The lamp figure is 20 Essential lamps at €65 each. They don't get "used up", so after the first outlay the yearly cost drops to essentially zero, while candles keep coming back every single year. (Figures are an illustrative example, adjust them to your own tables and opening nights.)
The hidden costs of candles
The purchase price isn't the whole story. Candles mean an open flame near guests, napkins and menus. They need lighting, checking and replacing throughout service, which is staff time on a busy night. The light also varies: some tables flicker low while others burn bright, so your atmosphere is never quite consistent. And then there's soot, spills and the occasional scorched tablecloth.
The one-off investment in lamps
A rechargeable lamp is the opposite: you buy it once. Our Essential lamps are metal, dimmable and splash-resistant (IP54), built for daily service.
Anton (€65) and Ava (€65) give the same warm glow as a candle, but dimmable and flame-free. Add an Amstel charging station (€99) so several lamps recharge on one station overnight.
Compared with tea lights, a set like this typically pays for itself inside the first year or two, and then keeps saving you money every year after. For larger quantities and advice, see our Professional line.
What the table doesn't show
Beyond the numbers, warm, consistent light lifts the whole guest experience, and can even keep guests at the table a little longer. We wrote about that in why warm table lighting increases your revenue. Not sure which lamp fits your venue? Start with our buying guide for hospitality lamps, or read the complete guide to rechargeable lamps.
Ready to swap candles for good? Browse the Professional line.
Frequently asked questions
How much do candles cost a restaurant per year?
For a 20-table venue open most evenings, one candle per table adds up to roughly €1,080–€2,880 a year for tea lights, and more for better dinner candles, every year.
Do rechargeable table lamps save money versus candles?
Yes. A lamp is a one-off purchase that lasts for years, so after the first outlay the yearly cost is essentially zero, while candles are a recurring expense.
How quickly do the lamps pay for themselves?
Compared with tea lights, a set of lamps usually pays for itself within the first year or two, then keeps saving money every year after.
Besides cost, why switch from candles?
No open flame, consistent warm light on every table, no soot or spills, and less staff time spent lighting and replacing candles during service.