Here's How Much Money You Can Actually Save Switching ...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that 15% of the average home's electric bill goes towards lights. For homeowners, switching to LED lights results in substantial savings. What's great about this is that you can enjoy the same lighting levels you get with CFL or other bulb types, but with lower energy usage and less money spent to get it. According to the DOE, by making the change from other lights to LED lights you can shave off $225 in energy costs per year, though the savings will be most notable in homes that replace incandescent bulbs. That may not seem like a lot but over a period of time, it adds up. In a survey published by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), it was estimated that some consumers could see energy savings of around $1,000 in 10 years, assuming their home uses at least 20 lights that are switched over to LEDs.

Though the energy reduction is a bit part of cost savings, LED bulbs also save you money due to how long they last. Although these bulbs typically cost more upfront, they last much longer, meaning you won't have to buy replacements as often. For example, Philips claims its latest-generation Hue LED light bulb lasts up to 25,000 hours or 25 years. Compare this to incandescent lights, which cost as little as a dollar but have much shorter lifespans, running an average of 1,000 hours before needing to be replaced (via USA Today).

Hi all,

We recently moved to a furnished place that has a beautiful downlight system on ceiling rails. Turns out though, that the lights installed were 8 x 50W halogen lights.

Assuming these lights are on for an average 8 hours per day (my partner runs a child care from our home), that runs us 8h x 50W x 8 = 3.2kWh per day. At a rate of $0.25 / kWh (the rough rate here in Australia), that comes down to $0.80 per day, or $292 per year.

By replacing the bulbs with 6W LED bulbs, I've been able to reduce this to an estimated 8h x 6W x 8 = 384Wh per day = $0.1 per day, or $36.5 per year. Even if I factor in the cost of the LED bulbs (about $10 each), that represents a savings of $292-$36.5-$80=$175.5 for the first year, and at least $255.50 for the years following.

This gets even better when you realise that LED lights have a ~25x longer lifespan compared to halogen lights.

TL:DR - LED bulbs, buy them to save money.