Back in January I shared some interesting facts about LED light bulbs and I took you shopping with me at The Home Depot as we replaced all of the fixtures on the first level of our home with LEDs. I’d hoped to wow you by reporting dramatic savings on my electric bill, but sadly our bill is actually slightly higher year over year. BUT I have some good theories on why this is the case which I’ll share in a moment.
The installation process was easy as can be — we just unscrewed all of our old CFL bulbs and screwed in the new LED light bulbs. Note that we chose not to discard our CFL bulbs since they’re all still in good working condition. Instead we boxed them up and put them in the crawl space in the basement so that we can take our new LED light bulbs with us when we move. However, if have CFL bulbs that you need to dispose of, I’d encourage you to read the information here on CFL cleanup and disposal.
What immediately struck me after replacing all of the bulbs was the difference in the quality of light. It’s not necessarily a good or bad difference — it’s just brighter and, well, different. I found it most noticeable in the bathroom where the light is forced out of the bulbs rather than being dispersed evenly from the entire bulb because of the way the bulbs are constructed. You can see in the image above that only the forward half of the bulb is giving off light. However, I quickly got used to this within a few days and now it’s not even noticeable to me.
So I mentioned that our electric bill is actually up slightly year over year when I had anticipated it going down based on my research. I have a few theories about why this is occurring:
- First, we already had CFL bulbs installed throughout the entire house courtesy of a great deal at Target a few years ago. Because our electric usage from lighting was already incredibly low, we’re not seeing a noticeable decrease from switching to LEDs. We’ll still see savings in the long run; however, they will come from the fact that we won’t have to replace the bulbs for many, many years to come. I’m also glad to not have to worry about the complications of cleaning up the mercury if a CFL bulb should break.
- Second, we also already have many electricity-saving measures installed in the house. Our kitchen light is on an automatic switch so it shuts off automatically after no movement has been sensed for five minutes. We also have a device that monitors our electric usage constantly so we can see how high our load is. And we tend to use our large appliances like our washer and dryer and dishwasher in the evening and early mornings outside of the peak load times which have a higher cost.
- Finally, as our children get older we’re naturally using more electricity as they start using more technology and such throughout the day, taking more frequent showers instead of baths, and increasing our laundry with sports involvement.
I found it interesting to note that my father’s electric bill was roughly the same as ours. We have houses of similar size; however, he has a two-person household with a regular work schedule outside of the home. In contrast, we have a seven-person household where there are nearly constantly members home since I work from home and my husband is still unemployed.
Overall, I’m impressed with the LED light bulbs and I think they definitely have an integral part in saving on our electricity. I just believe that our savings will take more time to become apparent than a household that was not already somewhat frugal with their electric usage.
Thanks for following along with me as I gave this new technology a try, and I’ve got one more $50 The Home Depot gift card to give away!
To enter: Just tell me — have you given LED light bulbs a try yet? Or after reading more about them, are they something you’ll consider when making your next light bulb replacement?
This giveaway will close at 3:00pm EST on 3/3/11.
The Home Depot works with bloggers such as myself to conduct product reviews. They do not tell bloggers what to say about their products or how to say it. THD fundamentally believes that people should be free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot often provides product – free of charge – to bloggers for review as they did for this post. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.
Julia H
Have not tried them yet but willing to give it a shot!
Billie jean bates
Just tried in the kitchen lights. Wow what a difference. I can see
Kate Bodien
Yes, we’ve been experimenting with LED bulbs. I’ve been trying different brands to try and get a warmer quality of light. I’m also looking for one that lights up instantly when the switch is turned, rather than taking 15 seconds or so to warm up. Overall, though, I love them!
Rebecca
I haven’t but we saw this this weekend and were curious… Really want to give them a try!
Lindsay in PA
As a bulb blows out in our house we get the LEDs instead…slowly but surely our house is being converted!
Please enter me into the GC giveaway!
Thanks! :)
KEILA ANDUJAR
Hello,
I have not tried the LED Light bulb yet. However, I will be buying some soon. We are expecting a baby any day now and I’ve been researching ways to save money. We currently use regular light bulbs and Im sure we could save some cost on energy if we make a switch,. Thanks for posting your results with this product.
Keila
Melissa
I don’t have any yet but almost all the bulbs in my house are CFL so when they do start going out and needing replacing, I will look into LED.
Mrs. Schmid
I haven’t tried them yet, but this post is having me give it another thought…
Jennifer
I have not yet tried them but would love too!
Heather M.
We haven’t tried them yet but I’m interested.
Joanna
I’ve used them a little, but I think I will more after this!
Terri
Now that I have read your post, I will discuss with my husband about using LED light bulbs the next time we need to replace a bulb.
Mami2jcn
I haven’t tried them but I’d like to!
Jessica
I have used them in my kitchen, but haven’t made the full switch throughout the whole house!
Damsel
We are definitely interested in LED bulbs!
We living in military housing, and don’t pay rent or utilities. We can get light bulbs and the like from maintenance for free. Can you imagine the savings for the government if they started handing out energy-conscious bulbs and appliances?!?! I really wish they would!!!
Megan
We have replaced all our bulbs with CLF and when they need to be replaced I’d love to try LEDs!
Lisa M
We only have one lamp that we purchased from IKEA that came with an LED bulb. It is my main reading lamp and I love it, even if it takes a few seconds to warm up. Our plan is to start replacing with LED, beginning with our kitchen remodel that is taking a long time – baby steps! Pay in cash! : )
deb
have only tried the christmas lights…but love them. I am waiting on a sale to be able to pick up a bunch more to switch them all over. They are so much brighter!!!
deb
My son keeps a string of them on over the door in his room instead of a night light….he likes the colored ones…
Jennifer Hokanson
Have just started, will try anything to save! :)
Cris
my hubby’s an electrician and we would love these – but then we would love a whole electrical upgrade to our older house.
Yvonne
My house needs an LED makeover and would love to do so…
Yvonne
Could use the gift card to update my lights. Save money as time goes on..
Yvonne
Let there be light. LED’s is what I need to do at my house.
Yvonne
My house is in bad need of a LED make over. Thanks Tara for sharing..
Karla
I have tried LED lights.
Jeri
I have not tried, but would love to give it a shot.
Isel
I’ve been curious since your last article but haven’t had the need for a new lightbulb yet plus I guess I’m waiting for a good deal before I try them :)
kathie
Yes I finally gave them a try in my family room and living room. Work great thinking about using them in the rest of my house! :)
Erin D
When a bulb goes out we replace with LED.