The lighting isle at your local home improvement stores used to be very easy to navigate. All you had to decide was did you want a 40-watt bulb or a 60-watt one and did you want soft white or standard. Now those same isles are filled with light bulbs of all shapes, sizes, colors, and types. Incandescent, compact florescent (CFL), Halogen, LED, dimmable, non-dimmable, outdoor, indoor, make the madness stop! When presented with so many options it's easy to become overwhelmed. And when people become overwhelmed they rely upon what they know, or what they're most familiar with. More often than not, the factors of price and light color are what the average consumer bases their purchase decision upon. While that may have been fine in the past it's not today. Why? You're costing yourself 1000's of dollars!
How we Compared Bulbs
Let's start with a common foundation. For the purposes of this comparison we're going to base our calculations on the same numbers the manufacturer's cleaver marketing geniuses use to come up with the numbers printed on the packaging for light bulbs. That means we'll figure an average of 3 hours use per day, every day of the year, and an electric rate of $0.11 per kilowatt-hour (KWH). We'll also state our total cost figures for each bulb type based on the life of the longest lasting bulb (an LED), which has a 25,000 hour / 22.8 year rated life.
Incandescent Light Bulbs - The Old Standard
Kicking off our comparison are incandescent bulbs, which are the cheapest to manufacture and as such they're also the least expensive to purchase at your local store of choice. But, they also have the most expensive energy cost to operate and have the shortest life. A typical 60-watt light bulb is rated to last between 1,000 hours for a standard bulb and about 1,800 hours for the best long-life bulb available. That means you'll be replacing that bulb every year to year and a half. Over the course of 22.8 years, you'll be replacing that bulb 13 times, costing $25.40. Based on an electric rate of $0.11 per kilowatt-hour (KWH) a 60-watt bulb costs $7.23 per year on your electric bill. The total cost over 22.8 years comes to a whopping $190.24.
Worse yet, 80% of the energy consumed by an incandescent light bulb goes to producing heat, not light. So now you're not only paying a lot to get the light you need, but in the warm months it's costing you extra in electric because it makes your A/C run more.
Compact Florescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) - The Promise Child of Savings
When CFL's came out they were supposed to be our heroes, lasting as long as 8,000 hours or 7-8 years. Sure they cost more at the checkout counter, but they were more energy efficient and thus cost less to operate. Suddenly that 60-watt bulb only used 18-watts and eventually just 14-watts. But, the CFL has an Achilles heal that gets buried in the legalese on the packaging.
The 8,000 hour rating in big bold text on the front of the package was based on a minimum run time of 3 hours. That's right, once you turn that CFL on, you have to keep it on for at least 3 hours in order to achieve the 8,000 hour rating. If like most people, you turn your lights on and off as you enter and leave a room (like a bathroom for example), reality is that your CFL is on for much short periods of time. The problem with that is two-fold. First, you've just voided the manufacturer's warranty on your bulb. So now if it only lasts a week or two, you're out of luck. Secondly, when running a CFL for less than 3 hours you're cutting its life significantly. How significantly? 40% of that 8,000 hour rating.
Compact florescent bulbs suffer from a number of other shortcomings too. They time to come to full brightness for one. It'll take several seconds to a minute for that bulb to reach it's peak light level. And because CFL's function by heating gasses which illuminate the tubes, they are also affected by cold temperatures. CFL's also pose an environmental hazard, they all contain mercury.
But let's not dwell on the harsh truths of the real world. Let's assume in the perfect manufacturer's world that we get the full 8,000 hours out of your CFL. Over the course of 22.8 years, you'll replace that bulb 3 times, costing $16. Based again on an electric rate of $0.11 per KWH a CFL costs $1.69 per year on your electric bill. The total cost over 22.8 years comes to a more reasonable $54.53.
LED Light Bulbs - The Game Changers
The new kids on the block. LED bulbs boast the longest life and they are the most energy efficient bulb available. They also produce less heat than either incandescent or compact florescent bulbs. LED's don't have minimum run times nor do they contain hazardous materials, and they're not affected by temperature. Sounds pretty amazing! Then why are LED bulbs not the best seller?
Human conditioning. Modern culture in America has taught us to look for the lowest shelf price. Afterall, why would you pay $17 for a LED bulb when you can grab a CFL for $5.33, or an incandescent for $2.00? Because it will cost you less over the life of the bulb than any of the others.
Over the course of 22.8 years, you'll never replace that bulb even once. Costing you $0. Based again on an electric rate of $0.11 per KWH a LED costs $0.97 per year on your electric bill. The total cost over 22.8 years comes to a minuscule $22.12. In just 2 years time that $2 bulb at the store cost you more in replacement and energy costs than the $17 LED!
Conclusion
LED bulbs are by far the least expensive type of lighting you can purchase. They also offer a host of advantages over incandescents and CFL's. LED's will provide you the most energy efficient lighting you can buy for one. While it may not seem like much on a per bulb level, take those savings and multiply them by the number of bulbs you have in your home or office. It adds up to a big number quickly! Not only will you save money, you'll also save yourself a lot of hassle by not changing your bulbs for another 22.8 years. So the next time you run to the store looking for bulbs, don't be penny-wise and pound foolish, reach for that LED.
