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The Benefits of LED Lighting for Cutting Energy Costs

This month I decided to replace all of my house lights with LED bulbs to try and reduce my energy consumption. A few years back, I replaced some of my bulbs with compact fluorescent lights. I did see a small improvement in energy consumption. I heard so much about the benefits of LED lighting that I decided to amp up my savings and replace all of my lights with LEDs.

What are the Benefits of LED Lighting

  • Reduces energy use
  • Saves money
  • Longer life lasts 4 to 5 times longer than regular bulbs.
  • Reduces ambient heat
  • It helps the environment with less waste

Upfront Costs

The Benefits of LED Lighting for Cutting Energy Costs

I went to Lowe’s and purchased 25-Utilitech 6.5-Watt (40W Equivalent) A19 Medium Base (E-26) Warm White LED Bulb and 4-Utilitech 15-Watt (75W Equivalent) PAR38 Medium Base Soft White Outdoor LED Bulb. The 6.5-watt bulbs were on sale for $3.98, not a bad deal. The Utilitech floodlights were $17.56 each.

Total purchase price of $169.74

I replaced the lighting in the kitchen and basement. There are 8 lights in the finished basement and 8 in the kitchen, including 3 lights in the bathroom, 3 lights in the bedrooms, and 3 in the living room. I also replaced each of the floodlights that are on motion detectors over the driveway and in the backyard. I am certain that these upfront costs will be recouped by the end of the year. In the long run, there should be some significant savings.

Cutting Energy Costs

My existing standard bulbs

25-Standard bulbs at 60 watts = 1500 watts

4-Outdoor floodlights at 75 watts = 300 watts

Total of 1800 watts

Replacing them with LEDs

25-LED bulbs at 6.5 watts = 162.5 watts

4-LED outdoor floodlights at 15 watts = 60 watts

Total of 222.50 watts

Difference in wattage

1800 watts – 222.50 watts = 1577.50 less wattage

LED Saving Calculator

We can take the calculations even further. This is a great website that allows you to calculate your savings.

LED Bulb Saving Calculator at LED waves

You just enter your information about your old bulbs and new LED bulbs. It will generate a report for you. Here are my savings on 25 LED 6.5 watt bulbs.

Results

Number of incandescent bulbs to be replaced with LED bulbs: 25 bulbs

Incand. bulb LED bulb
Initial bulb cost Total of $25.00
($1.00 each)
Total of $99.50
($3.98 each)
Wattage Total of 1,500 Watt
(60 Watt each)
Total of 150 Watt
(6 Watt each)
Electricity cost (10¢/kWh) $657.00 per year $65.70 per year
Lifespan (continuous use) 1,000 hours 30,000 hours
Lifespan when used for
12 hours a day, 7 days a week
2 months 22 days 6 years 10 months 5 days
Number of times an incandescent bulb to be replaced each year Total of 109.50 times
(4.38 times each fixture)
Number of times an incandescent bulb to be replaced during the LED bulb’s lifespan
(6 years 10 months 5 days)
Total of 750 times
(30 times each fixture)
Cost of bulb replacements each year
([Incand. bulb cost] × [Number of replacement per year])
Total of $109.50
($4.38 for each fixture)
Total annual cost
([Cost of bulb replacement] + [Electricity] + [Labor cost])
$766.50 per year $65.70 per year
(same as the annual electricity cost)
Total cost
(after 6 years 10 months 5 days)
$5,251 $453
Total savings with LED bulb
(after 6 years 10 months 5 days)
$5,251 − $453 = $4,798
Break-even point
(The amount of time necessary to save as much money as you invested initially)
1 month 8 days

Looks like some great savings to me. Every time I turn on the lights, I have significantly reduced my energy usage. I will continue to track my energy consumption from month to month. I will post an update on my findings.

Image courtesy of khunaspix at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Do you see the benefits of LED lighting?  Are you cutting energy costs?

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About Financial Forager
I enjoy canning, preserving, foraging and growing my own food. It’s become a way of life. When you grow a vegetable garden, you eat with the seasons. Foraging is the same way. I forage for many types of wild berries and edible plants. Preserving is a great way to store and maintain your garden and foraged finds.

4 Comments

  1. Looks like a great amount of savings! Occasionally my electric company will offer LED lights at the super cheap price of 50 cents. I need to swoop up some of those next time they do it.

  2. Nice! We currently have a mixture of LEDs and CFLs. We’re replacing our CFLs with LEDs as they die since LEDs are definitely the better deal! But, we didn’t want to take out CFLs that are still functioning, so it’s sort of a gradual transition here at the Frugalwoods home 🙂

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