Published by Green by Design under Uncategorized

For decades, our choice of light bulbs has mainly come down to incandescent versus fluorescent bulbs. Even though CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lights) are making inroads, incandescents still have the lion’s share of the market, because CFLs cost more up front and, despite recent improvements, still don’t give off the natural-looking light we’ve come to expect.

Enter the LED.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have been used for over 40 years, making their first commercial appearance in watches and small clocks. But early LEDs gave off too little light and were of limited color to be useful for home illumination. No wants to read by a dim red light!

But LEDs have come a long way in recent years, producing natural-spectrum white light that can illuminate a medium-sized area with one bulb. (Actually, the bulbs are made of multiple LEDs in one enclosure.)

Now that LEDs have passed the natural light test, they have two major advantages over incandescent bulbs: they last practically forever—60,000 hours—and they consume far less power—30 times less than a 60 watt bulb. Now we’re talking!

For the math-inclined, here’s a little food for thought. An LED in use for 10 hours per day (4 hours/day is closer to average) will last for 14 years. In comparison, incandescents last only 750-1,000 hours. It’s human nature to shy away from a $50 purchase, when you can have the ‘same thing’ for only $1. But the LED lasts at least 50 times longer, so you break even on the cost of the bulb alone.

Now factor in the power costs. A $50 LED bulb produces the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb. Yet it consumes only 2 watts of electricity, versus 60 watts for the incandescent. At 10 cents/kWh, the total savings over 10 years is about $350. Taken together, the long life and power savings of LEDs are powerful advantages.

In addition, LEDs run cooler, so they’re safer. A 100-watt incandescent bulb placed in a socket designed for a 40-watt bulb is a fire hazard. And, unlike fluorescent bulbs, LEDs contain no mercury, which is hazardous if the bulb breaks. More importantly, mercury poses a long-term risk to the environment when you throw it away. Remember, there is no ‘away’.

Still, LEDs have some drawbacks, apart from the higher up-front cost. Today’s LEDs don’t produce as much light as incandescents, so you may need more than one bulb for some lighting applications. Since LEDs are more directional, they perform better in reading lamps, recessed ceiling lamps, and other applications that require direct light rather than general ambient light.

So look at the whole story about LEDs, and resist your natural tendency to cringe at the $50 price tag. Let the economist in you rule the day.