Rapidly developing LED technology provides consumers with alternatives for replacing inefficient, carbon-producing incandescent bulbs, including a growing range of products designed for the E26/E27 screw in bases needed for most conventional lamps and overhead cans.

Are LED's a Good Investment?

The upfront cost of LED's are much higher than incandescent  and CFL bulbs.  LED's run from about $25 for a replacement for a conventional 40 watt incandescent to over $100 for a replacement for a conventional 100 watt overhead down light.  When compared to incandescent bulbs, the LED's do pay for themselves over time because they last much longer and use much less electricity.

For example, I recently  purchased four LED's for my office.  These are 14 watt overhead down lights that replace 65-75 watt incandescent bulbs.  Let's compare the cost of the 14 watt LED to its 65 watt counterpart over time.  If I turn the bulb on two hours per day, the 65 watt incandescent uses  .13 kWh of electricity per day, or 47.45 kWh over the course of a year .  The 14 watt LED uses 10.22 kWh over a year.  My electricity costs about 10 cents per kWh, which means that replacing the incandescent with my LED saves $3.72 per year in electricity costs.  In addition, the incandescent lasts 2000 hours, whereas the LED lasts 50,000 hours, which means that (at 2 hours of use per day) I would need to replace that incandescent bulb every 2.74 years.  This particular incandescent costs $5.60.  Given the cost of replacing these incandescent bulbs and the additional costs in electricity they create, the LED bulb will pay for its upfront cost in about 15 years.  At that point, it begins to make money, saving me about $30 over the next five years.  In other words, after 20 years, I will have earned about $30 by having invested in the LED.

The more a bulb is left on, the quicker these savings will accrue, which is why businesses that use lighting constantly generally have the most to gain from LED's.   So, for example, if I leave this particular bulb on for 8 hours a day rather than 2, I will begin making money from the LED replacement after less than 4 years rather than 15, and after the fourth year, I will be saving $30 every 1.25 years.  At 8 hours a day, the LED would last about 17 years, and over that period, I would have saved over $300.  Of course, another factor that will influence the outcome of savings is the cost of electricity.

Do LED's Significantly Reduce Carbon Emissions?

This depends on where your electricity comes from.  Coal-generated electricity creates a significant portion of our CO2 emissions.  How much?  That depends upon the particular plant and particular type of coal used.  The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that on average, plants across the U.S. that used coal to generate electricity in 1999 produced 2.095 lbs of CO2 per kWh.  Since we use renewable energy sources in our office at Think 2100, the LED's will not significantly reduce emissions in our case.    However, if we were using coal-generated electricity, then switching out my 65 watt incandescent for the 14 watt LED would reduce my carbon emissions by 78 lbs of CO2 per year.   

Why Not Use CFL's?

Because they cost much less than LED's, CFL's will often be the bulb of choice for the energy-conscious consumer.  However, they contain a small amount of mercury, which is highly toxic to both wildlife and humans.  Mercury can cause serious neurological damage and other health problems, particularly when a fetus is exposed.  However, it is important to keep in mind that even if CFL's were dumped in a landfill rather than properly disposed of, they would release far less CO2 into our environment than an incandescent bulb powered by coal.  According to Environment Colorado, a citizen-based environmental advocacy organization, "a coal-fired power plant will emit 13.6 milligrams of mercury to produce the electricity required to use an incandescent light bulb, compared to 3.3 milligrams for a comparable CFL."  But those who are concerned about the 3.3 milligrams of mercury used in a CFL may prefer to use LED's.  LED's are also less likely to break than CFL's, and they may be a better alternative when used with dimmer switches.

Review of LED bulbs

If you're ready to take the LED plunge, you may want to take a look at our review of a few of the options currently on the market.