LED Lighting Is The Way To Go

I've been frustrated that my 25 watt front porch candle like wick bulbs that last less then a month each. Soooo..


I did a little research regarding replacing them with LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs. Here's what I've discovered.* LED Replacement bulbs cost $11.98 a piece, but instead of using 75 watts for the 3, the LED's use only 12 watts total. That's less than 1/2 the wattage of just one of my old incandescent bulbs uses!

* More importantly the LED's are rated at 50,000 hours compared to the so-called 2,000 hours of the incandescent. That's 25x's longer. I presently spend $1.25 on each of the present type. That means it cost me $31.25 to buy 25 of them. So the LED's over the long haul are about 38% cheaper.

* The incandescent are rated to give off 150 lumens and the LED's are rated at 130 lumens. There's hardly a differential there.

* The Kelvin Color Temperatures on the LED's run towards the blue end of the light spectrum. The incandescent run toward the yellowish/orange. Since my surveillance camera relies on my front porch lighting, the bluish end of the spectrum enables my camera to see better. There are two types of LED's available . One runs towards the yellowish orange (a warm bulb). The other bluish end (a cool bulb). Which is another advantage over the incandescents.CONCLUSIONS
Not only will my cameras work better, but each of LED bulbs cost less over the 22 years they are said to last.

Important to me is in regards to the age of my home. It was built in the early 1900's. The wiring is old. By replacing bulbs that use less then 1/6th of the current, it become a safety advantage as well.

In regards to the environment:* Florescent bulbs (the one's I'm now using indoors) contain mercury and should be disposed of properly. LED's DO NOT CONTAIN MERCURY.

* It takes 714 lbs of coal to power a 100 watt incandescent bulb if lit for one straight year. By using an LED bulb it would take less then 119 lbs.

Coal's not the only problem in generating power for my 100 watt light bulb example. Sulfur dioxides, Nitrogen oxides and Carbon Dioxides are released into the atmosphere at the generating station to produce electrical power.I see nothing but an up side to converting over to LED's.* Their cheaper to power
* Cheaper to purchase
* Good for the environment
* Dimmable (Most fluorescents are not)
* Fluorescent flood lights used outside dim on cold days
* LED's play well with solar panels since they require little current.One last thing. LED's run cool. Almost all power is converted to light. Anyone who has bought a string of the newer LED Christmas lights can easily verify this. One need only touch the bulbs to feel the heat difference between their old string and the LED ones.

A Video On LED Lighting




The Future Of Home Lighting Video




If You Want To Go Really Nuts..
There are LED sound kits already available for your rec room

Though I'm not sure I'd drink before I fire it up
:-)

TIP:

When looking for a flashlight, look for one with an LED bulb. This too helps the environment because you will use about 1/6 the number of batteries.