Is it worth changing to LED lighting?

• Posted on November 2, 2015
• by mikew
• in Fix It & Use It
• No Comments.

Remember the bluish hue from LED Christmas lights when they first showed up? My wife and I did and were not about to taint our white holiday haze with any of those. We decided to skip the LED craze at first. Later I saw some of the funky bulb designs that were showing up – loops and disks that screamed “Back to the Future” to a guy firmly rooted in present day – skipped it again. Then last fall I was strolling down a Costco aisle steering my cart with one hand while balancing a sample in the other. I paused to look at the LED bulb package like my wife does when finding paleo-friendly foods. The package claimed LED had a life expectancy of more than 20 years! (Thought bubble, “I change bulbs in my house every month.”) And with the rebate offered they were $3 a bulb (Thought bubble, “Cha-ching!”). A few quick calculations and this spontaneous Costco-shopper was piling packs in the cart like they were tulips!

LED lights are having an impact on electrical loads in our home which is reducing our power bills and saving our energy usage. They are brighter and clearer than early generations and they scream “maintenance free!” They stay cooler than other types of bulbs – something I’m conscious of with my home’s older light fixtures. I’m a big fan and encourage you to join this craze and slowly start replacing the bulbs.

With careful shopping and buying a slug of bulbs at a time when rebated you can do this inexpensively. But be warned – some of the 3-way and 100-watt and high wattage bulbs are pricey ($20+ per bulb). You will need to shop around. I have found some brands and some packages to have occasional duds. Last week I was at the Woodinville Costco and saw they had LED light bulbs with an instant rebate. I bought a pack of each. You’ll notice they look pretty normal and they are actually easier to screw in with their design.

$8.99 for 60-watt 3 pack ($14.99 minus $6 rebate). $6.99 for 40-watt 3 pack ($12.99 minus $6 rebate). Rebates were present on all the other bulbs as well.

Almost all our bulbs are now LED in our home. So what now? Bring on a lower lighting bill and something to do with all this free time!