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Energy Savings with LED Light Bulbs (and a Giveaway!)
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I’ve long been a fan of compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs because of the energy savings. They are more expensive than incandescent light bulbs but they use up far less electricity. The two biggest complaints I have with CFL bulbs is that their lifespan is significantly reduced if they are turned on and off too often and that there is mercury inside them, making disposal a little more of a hassle.
Those problems are addressed with LED bulbs. LED bulbs use less power than incandescent bulbs, last up to 100,000 hours (That’s 17.1 years based on 8 hours of use a day), and have no glass, filaments, UV light, or mercury. One interesting fact I learned was that LED bulbs rarely burn out, they simply fade over time. The lifetime measure is based on when the bulb loses 30% of its lumen depreciation. Another interesting fact is that LEDs don’t have a filament, so they don’t really “burn out.” If you drop an incandescent bulb and break the filament, it’s done.
How expensive are LED bulbs?
A quick look on Home Depot shows that it can start at around $18 and get as high as $300 (For an Accent LED Par38 Flood bulb). It’s pricier than both CFLs and incandescent bulbs, but it lasts longer and has the potential to save you more money over the long haul.
Giveaway!
As promised, we are having a giveaway. Home Depot has generously provided four prizes for four lucky Bargaineering.com readers. Leave a comment below sharing your thoughts about LED light bulbs, what is appealing about them, and I’ll select four lucky winners to win one of the following:
- 3 winners to receive 1 EcoSmart A19 bulb,
- 1 grand prize winner to receive a $200 Home Depot gift card to re-fit their home with EcoSmart bulbs.
Contest is void where prohibited and I will select the winners at noon on November 3rd. Good luck!
The contest is now closed and the winners have been notified, thanks for entering!
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Just replaced the CFL’s that I had on our outside lantern after 9 months. They were too dim and I finally gave in too my wife. The regular lightbulbs give off 500% more light. I would be willing to try LED bulbs.
They might last a long time but how expensive are they and who has actually had experience of these lasting for years on end? Also how is the light quality?
Thanks for this post! I have began to use these bulbs in my home and slowly phasing out the old bulbs. I find they don’t get as hot which is great for safety.
I have been gradually introducing them into our household as things have burnt out. I haven’t had to replace any yet, so that’s good.
Do LED bulbs work with traditional dimmer switches? What color is the light output? You also mentioned these bulbs dimming over time. What is the lifespan and how much would they dim over time?
Until reading your post I wasn’t aware that LED bulbs were available for household lights. I know that I LOVE the brillant colors that are produced with LED Christmas lights. So, maybe it’s worth a try. We’ve switched all of our household lights to CFL’s but I do miss the more “natural-looking” light that comes with the old school bulbs. Thanks for the info!!
How many hours do you gey with these kind of bulbs? How come these bulbs don’t seem to burn hot unlike reg bulbs.
I haven’t yet tried LED bulbs in home fixtures, but I have a flashlight that uses them — it puts out an amazing amount of light, and if I drop it– no worries as there’s no filament to shake loose.
I love led lights! I use them for my holiday lights and I also have a string of them around my outside gazebo! I use them every night!
I have 2 questions:
1) How can we find out what are the best/economical LED bulbs to buy as a consumer?
2) How do LED bulbs behave in extreme conditions such as Wisconsin area? Cold or heat?
I think I left this befor,,LED’s have grown so much in teh 12Volt (car) uses, as we use these the cost should come down as it did fo r12 volt LED’s.
We recently remodeled our Den and office. We went with LED lights. We love them. The light color is great. We made several other upgrades and cut our electric bill by about $45.
I love the new LED bulbs, and I even bought them for the home I rent down south in the winter. What an easy way to cut the energy waste! However, it’s VERY disgusting to go into a store and look at every brand of these LED’s offered, and find that every single one, EVEN the G.E. bulbs, are Made in China! How does one support the U.S.A. when none from our own country are even put out on the shelves?? Doesn’t China already get enough of our money?? Which brand is made in the U.S.A. because I will search it out and even pay more, if that’s what it takes? What has happened to our patriotism??
That’s great LED light. Is it next generation light?
I always resist change but guess I need to start getting used to the LEDs because the old school bulbs are getting hard to find!
Question: What about the heat dissipation in the newer LED bulbs? The LED’s themselves do not generate much heat, but the electronics do, do the ones in this giveaway have an adequate heat sink?
I have been waiting for the LED light bulb to come out replacing the incandesent bulb since it is very economical to run saving money and lasting much longer. One question that I have – How will they work outside when it is cold?
One thing about the LED lights are that they are not as warm as incandescent bulbs or the CFLs.
If heat-emitting properties of a light bulb is important, however, (such as in traffic lights), then LED lights are not the way to go.
Are the LED bulbs compatible with dimmers? If so which type, resistive dimmers (for incandescent bulbs) or inductive dimmers (motors)
I’m glad to see LED’s are moving along, one reason being they’re much more practical to dim than CFL’s, and don’t buzz. I’d love to see a much brighter screw-in LED available–would be great on a dimmer.
I have only used LED flashlights and love them. A few yrs ago, we switched most of our incandescents to CFL bulbs. I would love to try the LEDs, esp since they have no mercury. What is the most reliable brand? Thanx.
I have only used LED as flashlights and love them. A few yrs ago, we switched most of our incandescents to CFL bulbs. I would love to try the LEDs, esp since they have no mercury. What is the most reliable brand? Thanx.
LED bulbs long life and energy costs make them a bargin.
I’m not a big fan of CFLs simply because they don’t seem to project light which is very natural. I understand the benefits, and wish I liked them more.
I recently snatched up an LED MagLite on clearance, and it is both bright and seems more natural. I’ll have to use it more to evaluate the pros/cons, and I’m certainly interested to see how LEDs fit into the general light bulb market.
For me i dont know LED Bulb cos in Ghana here we have been using CFL bulbs but i hope LED too will be nice and may be i will not consum much. i would be very grateful if u can come and do more promotion in Ghana people will get knowledge abt this bulb
thanx