

You are more likely to change your house before you need to change the light bulb. That means that if you use it for 10h a day, it should last you 14 years. In addition, the average life expectancy of an LED lightbulb is 50000 hours.
DO DUSK TO DAWN LIGHTS SAVE ELECTRICITY UPGRADE
If you currently have 30 bulbs at home, you can save up to $200 in a year if you upgrade all bulbs to LEDs. Next time you are due to replace your lights, you should opt for LED bulbs instead of CFLs or incandescents. In addition, LEDs operate on low-voltage electrical systems, as well as in cold temperatures, don’t contain any mercury, or emit UV or infrared radiation. LEDs produce almost no heat when they are burning and are kept cool even during prolonged periods of being on. You probably know it – when you are changing an incandescent bulb, you always have to wait a few minutes because you would burn your fingers. That puts this type of bulb at a high risk of overheating and becoming a fire hazard. Energy Inefficiency Due to Heat LossĪnother downside of incandescent bulbs is the heat loss – nearly 90% of energy is wasted as produced heat and only about 5% is turned into visible light. Not the end of the world, but these costs can add up relatively quickly. Leaving the lights on the whole day will therefore cost you:ģ0 bulbs x 0.06 (60 watts / 1000) kilowatts x 24 hours x 12 cents = $5.2 a day.

If you live in Texas and you haven’t yet switched energy suppliers, you are probably paying the standard energy tariff of 12 cents per kilowatt-hour. Despite its widely-acknowledged benefits, some people worry that LEDs might have adverse health effects, mainly due to emitting blue lighting.Ĭoming back to our initial question – will lights burn a lot of electricity if we leave them on? Let’s work with the assumption that you have thirty 60 watts incandescent lightbulbs. This technology is relatively new on the market, incredibly 90% more efficient, and lasts 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs and the bulbs are so thin that they can be designed in any way imaginable. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) – Crown jewels among the light bulbs. They are four times more efficient and last up to 10 times longer than incandescents (a 22 watts CFL will give you as much light as a 100-watt incandescent). homes but by 2016, this number dropped to 6%.Ĭompact fluorescent light bulbs (or CFLs) – This bulb is largely perceived as a replacement for incandescent or halogen lamps and is mainly available in two forms – screw-in and plug-in. In 2010, they were installed in 68% of U.S.

Because of the low efficiency, these bulbs are being phased out at speed. Incandescent bulbs – This old-fashioned, 100-years old technology emits light by heating the filament inside the bulb. There are generally three types of light bulbs: Different Bulbs Use Different Amounts of Energy However, that does not mean that it will give you the same amount of light, as another 60-watt bulb. For example, if you keep a 60-watt incandescent bulb on for an hour, it will burn, well 60 watts. Just think about every room of your house and count the number of bulbs you have – it can easily be up to twenty or thirty!Įach light bulb you buy will have its wattage displayed on the box so you can quickly tell how much energy will it consume. How Much Energy Does a Light Bulb Use?ĭo light bulbs use a lot of electricity? While individual bulbs consume small amounts of electricity (around 40 watts), the tricky part is that you probably have a lot of them in the house, so the costs quickly add up. Why? They are small, so they can’t consume that much electricity, even if you leave them on all day right? Well, let’s explore if that’s the case. One item you probably don’t think twice about is your light bulbs. When you start thinking about reducing your energy usage and shaving off a few dollars of your electricity bill, you usually worry about things like the dishwasher, washing machine, or heating.
