Believe it or not, LED lightbulbs are the best way to light up your life–for free! Before you decide there’s no way that’s true, let me show you why it is. If you haven’t made the switch to LED lightbulbs yet, you’ll want to after you read this post!
If you’re still using regular or fluorescent lightbulbs, then you’re in for a surprise because LEDs produce more light for much less cost. The trick is to look for light output of the lightbulbs you buy. Light is measured in lumens. So if an LED lightbulb and a CFL lightbulb might be rated the same in lumens, but the cost to produce that light is going be much less in an LED lightbulb!
An LED lightbulb is made up of many small light-emitting diodes. The diodes do a great job of producing light without emitting heat, so more light is produced with less energy. In contrast, much more of an incandescent lightbulb’s energy is lost through heat production. Ever touch a hot lightbulb? There’s the proof! An LED lightbulb is about 85% more efficient.
Let’s take a closer look at lightbulb efficiency. In a typical 60-watt incandescent bulb, you find a lifespan of about 1200 hours. To get the 25,000 hour lifespan of one LED lightbulb, you’d need 21 of those 60-watt incandescent bulbs or 3 CFLs {compact fluorescent lightbulb}. Here’s a price comparison for you:
- the cost of 21 60-watt incandescent lightbulbs is more than $20
- 3 CFL bulbs will cost you $6
But just think about it. Instead of spending $20+ on incandescent lightbulbs or $6 on CFLs, you could spend $4 for one LED lightbulb. That does not take into account the money you’ll save on your electrical bill. Because instead of using 60-watts of power, one LED lightbulb uses only 4 watts. That translates to quite a savings!
Other reasons to use LED lightbulbs?
- One LED lightbulb has an impressive 25,000-hour lifespan, and some newer versions have 50,000!
- LEDs do not go out or fail. They just simply get dimmer over time.
- There are no filaments inside an LED lightbulb, so they are much more durable than an incandescent bulb
- Once you flip the switch on an LED lightbulb, the light is instantly at full brightness. Unlike CFLs, there is no warm-up period.
- LED lightbulbs give off no UV emissions.
For more on the advantages of LED lightbulbs, see GE.
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