Home electricity use in US falling to 2001 levels

[pinballlooking]

Originally Posted by doug30293

CFL's are down to $1.50 each. I'll stick with them until the LED price drops one decimal place and I see evidence that LED's last at least 10% of their claimed life.

These are $4.99 a bulb what price are you looking for? They work great and only use 6 watts. They are dimmable but they are brighter than a 40 watt bulb
EcoSmart 40W Equivalent Bright White (3000K) A19 LED Light Bulb (4-Pack)-ECS GP19 WW 40WE 120 at The Home Depot

I had no luck with CFL I can get some free from my power company and I still won’t use them.

[Servicetech]

IMHO manufacturers should start shifting to LUMEN output instead of "equivalent watts". I've seen "40W equivalent" bulbs be anywhere from 200-500 Lumen. 450 Lumen @ 6W is pretty good, especially for $5/bulb. Do they have a "daylight" (about 5000k) version?

[jfweaver]

Originally Posted by Servicetech

30W per fixture savings x 3 fixtures = 90W. If you pay 10 cents per KWH you need to save 100KWH to save $10. 100KWH/90W savings = 1,111 hours per month. Problem is there are only 720hrs in a month.

The bigger thing that determines payback time is how much the mod costs. At retail prices the value isn't there. If you can buy the items at substantial discount then payback times are a lot shorter.

There are two things you might need to change in your calculations: The way that I read it was that he replaced 75w*3 = 225W with a total usage of 45W? Also, CA power is closer to 19-20c per KWH.

[Servicetech]

Originally Posted by jfweaver

There are two things you might need to change in your calculations: The way that I read it was that he replaced 75w*3 = 225W with a total usage of 45W? Also, CA power is closer to 19-20c per KWH.

Hopefully he posts back and tells us what he did/has.

[jeff5may]

Napkin calculation cited seems to be off by a factor of about 4, making the $10 savings possible in under 300 hours of use.

My point is that numbers and dollars lie, while energy usage is obviously saved.

LED lighting has come a long way in the last five years. Its time has yet to come.

The CFL is the new incandescent. The federal government is trying to do to the incandescent light what they did to CFC refrigerants.

[doug30293]

Originally Posted by pinballlooking

These are $4.99 a bulb what price are you looking for?

For comparison purposes I took the LED bulb from the shop and installed it in the reading lamp next to the bed. The lamp on the other side is a CFL.

Standing at the foot of the bed I cannot tell if one is brighter than the other. The Killawatt reports 11W on the LED and 16W for the CFL. If each lasts 1000 hours before shop machinery, lightning, or the grid gets them I will save 5 kWh - about 55 cents.

I'll wait it out another year or two. If my sample LED is still alive then I can justify the switch.

[MN Renovator]

I'm at about the 3 year mark IIRC on my LEDs and they are turned on at least 8-10 hours a day on most days for the ones in my bedroom. If I figure 5000 hours divided by 8 hours, that's 625 days, I'm already past the 10% mark on my Sylvania Ultra 8 watt 430 lumens (40 equiv). I have 6 of them in my house and not a problem with one of them. As my CFLs burn out, I'll be replacing them with LEDs and shuffling the LEDs to the places where they are most used. The trouble is that now that I'm getting the full brightness right away, directional light, and brighter for less wattage despite the lower lumen count on the package, I don't know if I really want to get rid of them. Why spend money to replace something that works, but I'm tempted.

I have about 17 CFLs in my house, not including a box of about 5 dead ones, and a box of about 8 old GE ones from the early 90s that were rated for 12,000 hours but the lighting quality is awful, they got dimmer with age, and they don't fit any of my fixtures. Those 12,000 hour bulbs were in place at a house I used to live in for about 15 years in the computer room and my bedroom and I spent most of my time in that computer room, only one of them ever burned out.

[ecomodded]

T8 ) 17W - 1260 lumen

LED ) 9w - 900 lumen


LED's have 30% higher lumen output then the florescent T8 bulb.

If worried about the more expensive LEDs lifespan you could keep your receipt for returns if you get a early failure.

I have bought both el cheapo led bulbs and name brand $20 leds , the el cheapo eBay led bulbs failed with in a year (bulbs were $3 each with free shipping) my name brand bulbs use 25w are still going strong as day one ,so far its been 2.5 years.
25w appears as bright as a 75-100w incandescent , I would stay away from the el cheapo led's. Turns out you get what you pay for with LED's as well , sometimes cheap stuff is good so I tried ,they failed fast.

[pinballlooking]

I put in 50 of the EcoSmart 40W Equivalent Bright White (3000K) A19 LED Light Bulb (4-Pack) $5 bulbs.
They are inside and outside I have had them for nine months not one issue.
They are great 60 watt replacements.




I have GE six pack has 5 CFLs + one other CFL never used. You pay shipping they are yours. (picture attached)

[Servicetech]

Originally Posted by ecomodded

T8 ) 17W - 1260 lumen

LED ) 9w - 900 lumen


LED's have 30% higher lumen output then the florescent T8 bulb.

If worried about the more expensive LEDs lifespan you could keep your receipt for returns if you get a early failure.

I have bought both el cheapo led bulbs and name brand $20 leds , the el cheapo eBay led bulbs failed with in a year (bulbs were $3 each with free shipping) my name brand bulbs use 25w are still going strong as day one ,so far its been 2.5 years.
25w appears as bright as a 75-100w incandescent , I would stay away from the el cheapo led's. Turns out you get what you pay for with LED's as well , sometimes cheap stuff is good so I tried ,they failed fast.

900Lumen for 9W is the exception, I've never seen one. Can you link to one available locally in in a national chain store with 100 lumen per watt? T8 is closer to 2600Lumen for 32W Most fixture have at least 2 lamps for 5200Lumen total. To get to 5200 lumen in LED means spending at least $50 when bought at local stores.