LEDs will save the USA a bundle ($120 billion and boatloads of carbon).

Several years ago when LED makers started trying to market to consumers, prices were beyond the reach of mere mortals, and that was for a 25W Equivalent bulb that had a harsh cold blue light, and didn't distribute the light it did have well, and didn't fit normal fixtures.  "Next year", everyone said, but I have watched industries like this for the better part (or at least latter part) of my career.

Everything takes longer than everyone says.

And so it has been with LEDs.

But the time has arrived.  LEDs are real, and now.

I saw something that surprised me recently -- LED bulbs that were the same size and shape as the ones they replaced (in this case R-20s, commonly used in kitchen downlights), and did all the things that incandescents did, like come on instantly, have nice warm light, spread the light either in a spot or flood pattern.  There are several differences, of course.  First, they cost about 5x as much as a high-quality 50W halogen bulb they replace -- around $42/bulb versus around $8/bulb for halogen.  But before you gasp, consider the following:

1) These are well-manufactured, solid-state lights.  This means there's very little that can go wrong -- the main failure mode of LEDs is overheating, and these bulbs generate very little heat in the first place, and also have an integrated heat sink (kind of like radiator fins for a light bulb) that disipate heat.  Beyond that, these bulbs tend to be shock resistant, temperature resistant, and kind of just stable: turn on electricity, they work. 

Light bulbs are rated for how many hours they'll work, but of course everyone knows that doesn't count the times that they break.  The problem with CFLs, and notably the cheapo, house-brand ones you buy at drug stores, grocery stores, and (yes) WalMart, Home Depot and Lowes all would last a very long time if they were never exposed to real life.  A little jostling and cheap CFLs tend to expire early.  CFLs deserve their bad rap for overstating their expected life ... but then again, so do incandescents.  (Note: good CFLs are designed properly and do last a long time, and honestly, for many applications are the best deal today.  But don't buy cheap CFLs, ok?)

LEDs, on the other hand, are actually living up to their lifespan estimates.  Perhaps more accurately, they haven't been breaking in real life, since for the most part, none has been around for 40,000 hours, which is a heck of a long time. 

So the first point is that LED bulbs (the good ones) are actually likely to last not for hours, but for decades.  So stop gasping at the price, and say "Dang, this lightbulb will last longer than my ...",  well, something long.  No, really, they will.

In fact, they are rated to last between 40,000 to 50,000 hours, compared to halogen which is rated to last 2,500 hours (16x longer for the LEDs).

2) The R-20 bulbs I looked at use 4.5 Watts, which is less than 1/10th of an equivalent halogen or other incandescent bulb.  So let's do some math. 

In my kitchen, we have 7 bulbs at 50W each.  They are on a least 2 hours a day, and my electricity rate (in the northeast) is $0.17/kWh, so my math is: 2 hours/day * 365 days * 0.05kW * $0.17/kWh = $6.20/bulb/year. 

In other words, in about a year, my halogen bulbs cost almost as much to run as they did to buy.  But the LEDs use 4.5W instead of 50W, so the math is $0.55/year/bulb.  So for each bulb, I save $5.65/year in cost.  They cost $45 - $7 = $38 more per bulb, so even if my halogen bulbs last forever (they don't), the LEDs would pay for themselves in 7 years ... just in electricity savings.

Except in my scenario, I would replace my halogen bulbs every 3 or 4 years, so it's really $45 - $14 = $31 more, and that means the LED pays for itself in just a few years, after which I get a dividend of more than $5/bulb/year.

So the big question I am asking is ... why so much math?  We (I) seem to need to do this math when comparing lightbulbs.  "How can I justify spending so much on a lightbulb?"  But how much did your last dinner out, or take-out night cost?  Trip to the mall?  Ski trip?  Visit from the plumber?  Starbucks coffee?  I think we simply look at light bulbs as a commodity. 

We need to stop doing that, since there's a huge cost in energy, CO2, and other stuff not (currently) included in your electricity bill.  Have you moticed that energy prices are creeping up again?  Oil is selling for 2x what it was just a year ago.  Hmm.  Should I expect other energy prices to rise?

Businesses make cost-benefit and ROI calculations like this as a matter of course.  You should, too.  When you do, you'll see that this year, perhaps for the first time, top quality, well-made LED bulbs used in the right applications are a simple "yes" from every perspective.

If only it were that easy ... we're people, not businesses.  So...  c'mon Energy Circle, make it easy for us!

Tom

(Disclaimer: I work for Energy Circle and and am hoping a certain person who shall remain nameless can work a sweet deal with the guys who make this killer LED bulb so that I can feel better about my kitchen, and oh, by the way, living room.  No, there's no employee discount, so I have to resort to guilt-tripping Lisa under the guise of a thoughtful comment.  Whatever it takes, I say.  Whoops, there I did it: I said her name.)

While it's true residential application LED's have come a long way and they will save the consumer money. The problem I've seen with them, as well as CFL's, is poor power factor and harmonic distortion. Utilities do not normally charge residences for poor power factor, nor do residences have to comply with IEEE519. The last LED I tested had a power factor in the 60% range and horrible harmonic distortion. On the commercial side of LED, these two problems are being eliminated by compliance with LM-79 testing. Hopefully, the manufacturers will figure out how to do the same on residential fixtures.

As always, great information. I'm glad you guys are here!

Vic