LED lights at home

I had a bit of the reverse experience. After I moved to PA (2006), the first thing I did was replace all of the lights in the house with CFLs. Those were the sort that were available at Sam's Club back then. My electric bill was ridiculously low.

Fast forward to redoing the house and we took them all out in favor of light fixtures that were more attractive and didn't have room for the CFLs. Electric bill went up noticeably.

Now in Ohio we're slowly changing back over. Because this house has so many lights, it is slower and I'm starting with the ones in the most used areas that I'm expecting the biggest savings on, and will expand from there. The utility bill here is higher for multiple reasons, and I'd like to get it down further.
 
I've only got a couple of CFLs still installed - the rest are LED. The price at Costco on the LEDs keep going down... as my incadescents fail (and the remaining CFLs either fail or go up in a puff of smoke), I replace them with LED. Hate the start-up time on the CFLs. Most of my electric use is from other stuff, so there's some electric savings but not as much as some other folks see. Then again, my HDTV is still one of the early tube-type Philips units.
 
DaleB said:
When I first started installing CFLs and saw the difference in the electric bill, I did the calculations and figured the break-even point at a year or so (or maybe it was two). That was with older CFLs that were 3-4 times what they cost now AND used more energy. The first batch were 65W replacement floods burning 26W. The newer ones burn about half that, I think.

Even with the replacements I bought for early failures, I'm still saving money now.
Click to expand...
My electric bill is so low anyway (+- $40/month) that I'm not sure bulbs make any difference. I haven't noticed any difference but I don't keep close tabs on my electrical use.
 
DaleB said:
... My office was in the basement at the time, so the lights were on 12-18 hours a day.
Click to expand...

High usage - a real game-changer...

DaleB said:
While I was not at all happy with the cost or failure rate on the early CFLs, they now last longer than the incandescents did and cost a lot less.
Click to expand...

Cost less to run, still quite a bit more to buy - although the prices have come down some, and I expect the prices of CFLs to come down more as competition from LEDs increases.

DaleB said:
They work fine, although I hate the long turn-on time. Really hate it. In fact that characteristic is the entire reason we still have incandescent bulbs in a lot of places around the house.
Click to expand...

A good reason why you should have a choice of what to buy, based upon its intended use.

DaleB said:
I don't miss the incandescent bulbs, mostly because what I'm replacing them with are lasting a lot longer. I hate replacing bulbs, especially the ones that require a ladder.
Click to expand...

A good reason why you might buy an LED - based upon sound reasoning, and not upon being told you can no longer buy the other.
 
SCCutler said:
Cost less to run, still quite a bit more to buy - although the prices have come down some, and I expect the prices of CFLs to come down more as competition from LEDs increases.
Click to expand...

I also think the cost to own is lower still thanks to not creating extra heat to work your air conditioner harder in the summer.
 
Spike, if I'm not mistaken, at one time low-energy light bulbs qualified for the energy saving tax credit. Now that they're mandated, however.....
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I also think the cost to own is lower still thanks to not creating extra heat to work your air conditioner harder in the summer.
Click to expand...

Never one to trivialize the heat load, but as a proportion of the overall BTUs imposed on the building envelope, for the typical home, not too much of an issue. Also, of course, you don't get the benefit of the heat in the cold-weather months, either.

wsuffa said:
Spike, if I'm not mistaken, at one time low-energy light bulbs qualified for the energy saving tax credit. Now that they're mandated, however.....
Click to expand...

For homeowners? I am aware of tax credits for commercial building operators...
 
SCCutler said:
For homeowners? I am aware of tax credits for commercial building operators...
Click to expand...

Nothing recent - I'm thinking back quite some time. The most recent credits didn't cover lighting.

There may be recent state credits, and some utilities provided a rebate/discount (mine did).
 
SCCutler said:
Never one to trivialize the heat load, but as a proportion of the overall BTUs imposed on the building envelope, for the typical home, not too much of an issue. Also, of course, you don't get the benefit of the heat in the cold-weather months, either.
Click to expand...

Also true, but I think it's a bit more complex than that. For example, in our home some of the most used lights will make a more noticeable impact in the one area. In the summer that means live with it or turn down the temp, and the latter hurts more. Winter is usually easier.

Either way, I like LEDs. Best reason to have them. :)
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Also true, but I think it's a bit more complex than that. For example, in our home some of the most used lights will make a more noticeable impact in the one area. In the summer that means live with it or turn down the temp, and the latter hurts more. Winter is usually easier.
Click to expand...


I think I'll likely change over to LED some time within the next year in my kitchen and breakfast area, because we use these rooms a lot, so the lights are on a lot. I'm monitoring the cost of LED replacements for R30 lamps, and when the prices make rational sense, I'll change over. CFL reflector llights are gosh-awful junk; I just removed several of those, as they take a long time to warm up.

Ted DuPuis said:
Either way, I like LEDs. Best reason to have them. :)
Click to expand...

And a very good reason, indeed. But does it not rankle you - a little- that your choices have been dramatically-narrowed by the forceful removal of the lowest-initial-cost option from the marketplace?

Market theory (and the market works well) says that the cost of LED lighting will likely decrease at a slower pace, now. That cannot be a good thing.

I am very close to pulling the trigger on LED position/strobes for the Bo, by the way. The flash tubes are getting old and I get a lot of electrical noise from the strobe power supplies, so I can cure two diseases with one pill (hate killing birds ;-) ). Whelen has some awesomely-great products freshly released.
 
SCCutler said:
And a very good reason, indeed. But does it not rankle you - a little- that your choices have been dramatically-narrowed by the forceful removal of the lowest-initial-cost option from the marketplace?

Market theory (and the market works well) says that the cost of LED lighting will likely decrease at a slower pace, now. That cannot be a good thing.

I am very close to pulling the trigger on LED position/strobes for the Bo, by the way. The flash tubes are getting old and I get a lot of electrical noise from the strobe power supplies, so I can cure two diseases with one pill (hate killing birds ;-) ). Whelen has some awesomely-great products freshly released.
Click to expand...

It does bug me that the government is mandating that they be removed from the marketplace on principle, but from a practical standpoint it doesn't bug me since I'm not going to buy any more incandescent bulbs anyway. It's something like a ban on single engine planes. ;)

CFL and LED lights will now compete for the same market with eachother, which will still push down the costs of LEDs, perhaps at a slower rate.

I have been very happy with the LED lights in the 310 thus far. Better light output makes for a happier pilot. :)
 
I replaced all the 12VDC incandescent bulbs (22 bulbs) in my RV this summer with LED panels like these
http://r.ebay.com/HLSIyH (not from this specific vendor, but similar, and similarly priced).

My battery usage went to 1/10th the draw just from the lights (important when I boondock and run off battery only). When plugged into 120V, my converter fan kicked on with just 1 incandescent fixture turned on (2 bulbs per fixture). Post LED conversion, I can turn on every fixture in the RV and the converter fan doesn't come on.

However, I've had 4 panels fail so far, in just over 6 months (probably only a few hours of use total).

I purchased some other panels from a different vendor, and have not had any failures of those yet.

I know the thread is household use, so 12VDC is a thread drift - like that NEVER happens here! :)
 
Everskyward said:
This...

I have no clue if they are an extra expense or a cost saving but I sure like not having to change bulbs as often.
Click to expand...

This is where I'm at also. Where I live, the power is very "dirty" from all the oilfield activity, our voltage swings all over the place and spikes are quite frequent. I can't keep incandescent bulbs alive, they have lifetimes between 2 and 6 weeks typically. I started putting in LED's as a test almost a year ago, and I've only replaced one of them (infant mortality, failed out of the box). They apparently handle the rapidly fluctuating voltage MUCH better than filament bulbs, and their brightness does not fluctuate with the voltage as the filament bulbs do. They utilize some type of constant-current driver in the base of the bulb that apparently is fairly immune to my dirty power.
 
SCCutler said:
CFL reflector llights are gosh-awful junk; I just removed several of those, as they take a long time to warm up.
Click to expand...

Boy, do they! I've got one in the walk-in closet in the bedroom. I'm in and out before that darned thing starts putting out serious light.

I replaced several CFL floods in the kitchen with LEDs. I doubt I'll see any significant difference in power bills, but if they wind up more reliable than CFLs or incandescent bulbs I'll save a bunch of trouble by not having to drag the 8 foot step ladder in to change them quite so often. Now to change the rest of them. Other than the exposed curly CFLs, CFLs are junk and a waste of time, effort and money. My opinion, anyway.
 
I can't believe people who operate airplanes are computing the cost of light bulbs and how it effects the cost of electricity in their house, unless they live in huge well-lit houses. :D
 
Ghery said:
Boy, do they! I've got one in the walk-in closet in the bedroom. I'm in and out before that darned thing starts putting out serious light.
Click to expand...
Exactly why I specified LEDs for our new closet. Four CREE flush mounted fixtures on a motion sensor, and it's like high noon in there. All for less energy than a 60W desk lamp.
 
DaleB said:
Exactly why I specified LEDs for our new closet. Four CREE flush mounted fixtures on a motion sensor, and it's like high noon in there. All for less energy than a 60W desk lamp.
Click to expand...

Dale:

I need to put in new lights for my bride's closet in our new-to-us home - can you provide product data?

Thanks in advance!
 
Here is a real world, very expensive electricity [SoCal] bill history . . .

First year we moved into this house, [8/2010 - 7/2011] the bill averaged about $225 a month. We replaced all of the incandescents with CFL essentially when we moved in. This is with 3.0kWh of Solar on the roof. The solar faces west - so its not an all day thing either.

Second year was about the same as the first. Nothing new really, bill averaged the same. . . .

Third year - August 2012, we leased a Chevy Volt, and we changed billing plans to a electric car plan - this reduced the super off peak [1201a - 0600] to only 11 cents kWh, but the top tier rate, over 130% of baseline, is 29cents. This goes up to 48 cents in summer. When we bought the car I started replacing light bulbs. All the regularly operating in the living areas and bath rooms are LED - with a couple of exceptions of CFL that need more light than an LED can generate.

Power use has gone up by less than 13kWh the Volt uses every work day to charge. Since we are using much less power during the off peak [not super off peak] period than we used to given the lighting change over, our bill has dropped to under $180 a month on average. We have had summer bills under $100 given that we are selling power back during peak times - the way things work here is that the meter does 'run backward,' it merely accounts for the net metered power during the peak time and credits us back actual money on the bill for the co-generated power.

I imagine that if we did not have the electric car that our bill would average closer to $120 a month - which for a 3600 sq. ft house in a part of Los Angeles that needs AC in August and September - with a pool pump running also - is extraordinary.

I attribute the lower bills to a combination of how the solar net metering works, the electric car rate plan and the solar on the roof during peak times.
 
Everskyward said:
I can't believe people who operate airplanes are computing the cost of light bulbs and how it effects the cost of electricity in their house, unless they live in huge well-lit houses. :D
Click to expand...

Well, it depends on how you look at it. Certainly I think all of us can afford the extra cost of electricity, but that doesn't necessarily mean we want to spend our money there. I like having low fixed expenses, so things like having low utility bills are nice.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Well, it depends on how you look at it. Certainly I think all of us can afford the extra cost of electricity, but that doesn't necessarily mean we want to spend our money there. I like having low fixed expenses, so things like having low utility bills are nice.
Click to expand...
Maybe I live in a cheap electricity zone but my bills haven't varied more than $5/month in 20 years and I can't imagine how negligible the lights are as a fraction of that bill. I have an electric stove, washer/dryer, computer, etc. which I'm sure use more electricity than my lights.
 
Right before Christmas, I was at the local Home Depot to hoard (I mean stock up) 40 and 60W incandescent bulbs. Mission accomplished.

But while I was there, I bumped into a friend who said "Did you see the deal on the CFL's?"

Turns out, Georgia Power was sponsoring some sort of "deal" on CFL's. Probably to meet some year-end green promise. The inventory was going out the door pretty fast.

Anyway, the deal was $8 for SIXTY 65W equivalent CFL's. You had to buy a minimum of 60 bulbs. But for $8, I was OK with that. We've been selectively replacing incandescents around the house since then. I figure that our setup uses about 30 conventional bulbs, so if we attrit 3 CFL's a year, we have a stockpile that's good for a decade, even if we toss all of the incandescents in the garbage.
 
I just finished replacing the lights in my office with LED - it's all track lighting and floods. I also put in a Lutron CL series dimmer switch, and I have to say how impressed I am. The dimming works great - no noises from the lights. And the LED's pop right on to full brightness unlike the CFLs they replaced.

Time will tell about longetivity.
 
Everskyward said:
Maybe I live in a cheap electricity zone but my bills haven't varied more than $5/month in 20 years and I can't imagine how negligible the lights are as a fraction of that bill. I have an electric stove, washer/dryer, computer, etc. which I'm sure use more electricity than my lights.
Click to expand...

When I was single and living in PA on a schedule similar to you that involved a decent amount of traveling, that's how mine were. Got married, things changed. :)
 
Ted DuPuis said:
When I was single and living in PA on a schedule similar to you that involved a decent amount of traveling, that's how mine were. Got married, things changed. :)
Click to expand...
I'm thinking that's not really in the cards for me. :eek:
 
Everskyward said:
I'm thinking that's not really in the cards for me. :eek:
Click to expand...

Anyone can get married, although the kids part might be a little harder for you at this point. ;)
 
TMetzinger said:
I just finished replacing the lights in my office with LED - it's all track lighting and floods. I also put in a Lutron CL series dimmer switch, and I have to say how impressed I am. The dimming works great - no noises from the lights. And the LED's pop right on to full brightness unlike the CFLs they replaced.



Time will tell about longetivity.
Click to expand...


No audible noise. How about RF noise? I have a number of high end communications receivers here that hate CFL ballasts.
 
denverpilot said:
What air conditioner? Heh. We open windows.
Click to expand...

Depends on your climate and your house. In PA I didn't run the AC for the first few years there, just opened windows at night and closed them in the morning. Don't try that in Texas. Even Ohio, not such a good idea.
 
denverpilot said:
Continued thoughts...
<snip>
Anyway, no matter how much advantage I give to the LED bulbs on price, the incandescents are easily paying for themselves, Kent.

Was fun to calculate it out, though.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Did you only compare electric consumption of your lighting?

I generally like my spaces to be brightly lit. Incandescents throw a lot of heat into rooms--especially the bathroom in the morning. I have found that replacing with CFLs has eliminated the "heat lamp effect" I used to feel standing in front of the mirror.

Similar heat was being generated by all the incandescents I used in my house, whether I directly felt it or not, and the a/c system was having to transport that heat outside, which costs energy. Depending on your house, this component of your electric bill may not be insignificant.

Edit: Whoops...didn't realize there were still two pages of replies I hadn't gotten to yet, and others had already mentioned the heating/cooling effects.

Sent from my PC using my fingers
 
Last edited:
SCCutler said:
Dale:

I need to put in new lights for my bride's closet in our new-to-us home - can you provide product data?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
I'll see if I can get one unmounted later on. Just popping off the diffuser I don't see any markings, but I believe I have seen these same fixtures at Lowe's. It's a flush mount white trim ring with a frosted diffuser over 4 CREE LEDs, and they mount to a standard square electrical box. I'd say each is about equivalent to a 60-65W incandescent.
 
denverpilot said:
What air conditioner? Heh. We open windows.
Click to expand...
After I got new windows last August I was asked how much I was saving on my utility bill. I told them probably nothing because I don't have AC installed in my house. But the new windows sure keep the house cooler in the summer! I should have done it years ago. On the other hand, I will never recover the expense...
 
denverpilot said:
No audible noise. How about RF noise? I have a number of high end communications receivers here that hate CFL ballasts.
Click to expand...
There's a number of complaints on some RV boards about RF noise from the really cheap, direct from China, 12V LEDs. Since I never turn on anything that would pick that up in the RV, it's not an issue for me.
 
denverpilot said:
No audible noise. How about RF noise? I have a number of high end communications receivers here that hate CFL ballasts.
Click to expand...

I've had no RF noise that I can associate with LEDs. Still have a noisy dimmer in one room, it's not used much so I haven't bothered to switch. And one computer that's noisy (FCC limits? :rofl::rofl::rofl:) The CFLs are another story, however.

Of course, if you have a problem, just remote those radios to a mountain top or somewhere in a far corner of your property....
 
I have had several instances of CFLs failing noisy - extreme RF interference. After the first time, I knew what to look for.

Not so much lately...
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Depends on your climate and your house. In PA I didn't run the AC for the first few years there, just opened windows at night and closed them in the morning. Don't try that in Texas. Even Ohio, not such a good idea.
Click to expand...


That was my point. I like to phrase such points as questions and let folks figure out their bad assumption on their own. An old habit learned from grandpa.
 
denverpilot said:
That was my point. I like to phrase such points as questions and let folks figure out their bad assumption on their own. An old habit learned from grandpa.
Click to expand...

And I was pointing out why your assumption was the bad one. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top