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.
Chrissy G
I haven’t tried them yet, but I’d be open to it. I, like you, had made the switch to CFL a little while ago, but I’m open to LED.
Martha
We have been gradually replacing our existing CFL’s with LED as the need to replace bulbs arises. Overall have been very pleased with the LED’s but will be glad when a greater variety of bulbs are available. We live in a small rural community and our local Home Depot does no have a great selection as it is a very small store, but we are always hoping for improvement!!
Adele S.
I haven’t tried them yet. With our current florescent bulbs it takes awhile for bulbs to need replacement. I’d definitely be willing to try these new bulbs when the old ones burn out.
Denise Johnson
I have not tried them inside my home yet. Anything to save on electricity I am for!
Tina Fink
I haven’t yet – I have made the switch to CFL but I would like to try the LED bulbs.
Larena
We haven’t tried them yet but would like to!
Susan G
I haven’t had the opportunity to try them yet.
Suzanne Bergholz
We have been replacing all of our bulbs with these LED bulbs and are basically much happier with their long life although this is rather inconsistant across the brands and price ranges, We have been trying to be much more eco-conscious and these bulbs are a small step in that direction. They are affordable too. We cannot afford a hybrid car, so this we CAN do. Lots of small steps will get us where we need to go.
Bettye D
I have tried them for a few years now and I like them and I can see the difference in my utility bill. They last longer than the regular bulbs.
Kathleen Southern
We have tried the new lightbulbs and we like them…just like yourself, I noticed a difference in the quality of light and it’s very helpful to me.
Christine
We still have mostly CFLs–I tried to buy some LEDs recently but the selection at my local Lowe’s was still very limited. As the CFLs burn out and hopefully the replacement options increase, I hope to transition to more LEDs.
Carol
We haven’t tried the LED bulbs yet, but we have changed to CFL bulbs and they don’t seem to last very long for us which is a concern if regular light bulbs are going to be taken off the market. Anyone else have that problem with CFL bulbs?
Sarah
I have not used LED lights—we switched over to mossly CFL bulbs as our old ones burned out. I would be open to trying them out though.
LOUISE
I HAVE NOT TRIED LED LIGHTS YET, I WAS NOT REALLY IMPRESSED WITH THE CFL’S BECAUSE NONE LASTED ANY LONGER THAN REGULAR BULBS
Lori Hollis
We have replaced all our bulbs,yes it was costly but I feel like over time we’ll be paid back.Besides our family is trying any way we can to be greener.
Doria
Yes, we already use the bulbs almost exclusively, but I appreciated the info on disposal as this has always been a dilema for us.
Teri C
I haven’t tried LED lightbulbs. But, I would like to. I hope the cost comes down a little more on them.
Destiny
Wow! I’m feeling out of the loop! I didn’t even know there were LED bulbs. Last thing I knew was CFL bulbs were supposed to replace regular bulbs and now I saw this! We have a family of 5 and our electric bill grew to an enormous amount this year. I would LOVE to try the bulbs…anything to help lower our bills and save our resources for the next generation sounds like a great idea!
Emily
I haven’t tried them, but I’m not opposed to it.
Cher
I am definitely curious about them now! We finally changed over to all CFL’s and of course now there is something new!
Heidi
I made the switch when I went eco freindly awhile back. I love that they last so much longer. I encourage everyone to switch.
Mary
I’d like to give them a try.
Bambi
I have not tried them. I just recently switched to CFL, but I would be open to buying them.
Alesia
I haven’t tried LED bulbs yet, but I will definitely consider them the next time I need bulbs.
Naomie
I feel a little behind, as we have just switch to CFL bulbs recently, but I am open to trying LED’s after the next change.
Michele Krik
I have not yet tried them but when i need new ones i will see how they are.
Anna C
we have cfl’s right now, but will probably switch to LEDs when these burn out. I’m not sure I really like the CFLs and I am not looking forward to the hassle of recycling them.
Heidi
I replaced my track-lighting bulbs with LED’s and really like them. I plan on switching out the rest of my bulbs as they burn out.
Deborah
We have CFLs right now and have not tried the LEDs. I am looking forward to trying them though, I am not that impressed with the CFLs so far.
Theresa G
We are now using LED bulbs in the bedroom. Waiting for higher watt ones as the 60 watt we found just isn’t strong enough to light our two story family room. But they say more are coming out soon to handle that.