LED Lights - Energy saving Incandescent Replacements Cost Dropping

LED Lights - Home LED replacement bulbs are getting more reasonable as well as finding their way into big box stores. While many are esoteric in design, from under cabinet lights to closet lights that are battery powered, there are many on the internet that can be had for what CFL's were a few years ago. They use up to 1/10 the electricity of an incandescent, and last 10 times as long.

Compared to an incandescent bulb, an LED will last up to 100 times as long - up to 100,000 hours of use. comparing the electricity used, you'll be saving a lot - over a twenty year period. At Eight hours a day you'll spend:

40W Incandescent Light $59 in replacementbulbs (59 bulbs)
$467 in electricity (0.2/KWh)
total: $526

CFL 40W Equivalent Bulb$15 in replacement bulbs (5 bulbs)
$105 in electricity (0.2/KWh)
total: $120

LED 40W Equivalent Bulb$0 in replacement bulb (still working)
$51 in electricity (0.2/KWh)
Total: $51

A difference of $475 from an incandescent, and a difference of $69 from a CFL. CFL's still have some advantage at first cash outlay, but the LED will pay for itself (considering approximately $20 for a bulb) in four years, and keep on going. It'll pay for itself as a replacement of an incandescent in less than a year!

There are two types of "Edison Base" screw in LED bulbs available currently: Spot/Flood, and Globe.

The Spot/Flood type are directional: they only send light out in a flashlight-like pattern. These are great for recessed lighting, for floodlights, or for lighting up a specific area.

If you're replacing a bulb in a room lamp like a torchier, you'll want the "globe" variety. These LED fixtures shine their light more like a convetional bulb in every direction, and are better suited for floor lamps and overhead lights, especially the overhead lights where they don't screw in vertically, but screw in at an angle and take advantage of a reflector.

There are two different configurations of LED bulbs available too, and they've both got their advantages and disadvantages:
Large Cluster LED Bulbs - these have more than ten LED's within the unit, and look like some of the UFO's in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, except the light is all white. The advantage here is cost: they're much easier to manufacture inexpensively. The disadvantage is that every LED is a possible point of failure: for each LED, there are two solder joints that can go bad, along with the conversion circuitry inside.
Single or Small Cluster LED Bulbs - these bulbs use more expensive LEDs that deliver more lumens per LED (more light). Their main advantage is that there are less points of failure: a five LED cluster only has ten points of possible failure outside of the driver circuits, where a comparable bulb will have 120 points of failure for a 60 LED cluster or more! The disadvantage is that they're more expensive to manufacuture due to the cost of the individual LED's, and the circuitry inside has to be more precise.

You have to weigh out the cost vs. the possibility of failure, and where the bulb going to do you the most good. Night time outdoor floods make the most sense and are worth the cost, especially if they're on all the time. Indoors, the light that's always left on in the hallway is the one you'll most likely want to replace. Also, you have to be sure it fits! Just like CFL's, the LED replacement bulbs may not fit in the fixture you'd like. Be sure you can compare the shape and size of the bulb so you know it'll fit: otherwise you'll have several costly LED Edison base bulbs lighting up your cellar, or other places that they're hardly used, just because they fit!

Another factor to consider is the light output - if it' equivalent to a 15 watt bulb, you're not going to use it in a hallway. Get at least a 40W equivalent for these areas, preferably more.

Replacing one 40W incandescent bulb with an LED equivelant will pay for itself in less than one year, and you've got up to 19 more years to reap the rewards! Think of replacing five bulbs: the first year costs you about $100. The second year you've saved $100, in five years you've saved $500, in ten you've saved $1000, etc. And the price just keeps dropping!

Every cost cutting action you take adds up to a total savings in the long term, as long as you're not buying everything on credit or taking out loans. Replacing one bulb every month is easy, effective and you'll probably run out of bulbs before two years. Consider other low-cost saving strategies as well, like insulation, an energy audit for your home, cold water washing, line drying, etc. Every dollar you save adds up when you add them all up!

One of the better prices on a multi-LED bulb: 600 Lumen White Note: Made for "bare bulb" applications, you'd have trouble fitting this into an enclosed fixture.

Low Priced, can at least get you started:Globe Shaped

Higher priced higher quality, spotlight despite the shape:stainless steel spotlight